Friday, July 22, 2011

What to do

When adventure becomes a way of life
When leaving is a recurring theme
When the constants are the sunset and the moon
When the act of traveling feels like coming home.

What to do.

When the addiction is to beginnings and endings
When life is not shared with the most loved
but with constantly new, alone, interesting others.
When language, borders, and visas are necessary trivialities,
inviting and welcoming in all their unknown glory.
When stability and home are unknown commodities
And self-imposed restrictions are few.

When the greatest sorrow is leaving a love who is far away today,
sorrow for the future, the present, the what-if and the could-be.
When life-altering choices are made on a whim, on an instinct,
on a need for a quest that is really internal.

When you feel like a pirate. A modern pirate, a pioneer, an explorer,
in constant movement
With a purpose, a goal, a mission
But really simply a sense of adventure, an itch, a yearning to explore
Too big to satisfy in one single place.

The world is so small, with so much in it
But it's still big enough for distance to matter
Big enough to go away and not come back for a long time
Big enough to disappear for a while
And see new, wondrous places
Meet people who are utterly different from yourself
With whom you share more than you can possible imagine.

What to do when it becomes a way of life
A unique opportunity that keeps getting duplicated
A way to live, work, be outside the mainstream.
A way to be happy.