Traveling

The skies are open and clear for the moment. The move from country to urban settings are exciting at first; then, the hard surfaces, echoing sounds, and pace of city life reshapes the body both internally and externally. The move into the urban center creates a new kind of energy. The temperature is 80 degrees fahrenheit. Today is Wednesday, in Asia.

It has been two weeks of travel from the north American continent to Asia. The days of travel have been easeful. Transitions from one location to the next can be challenging because of time changes, logistics, and packing. It was fine twenty years ago. Today? More challenging thanks to age. This is why, if it is at all possible, you should travel while the body is strong and capable of moving, lifting, turning with changes of all kinds.

It is not just languages and sounds, but energy and the pace that can vary widely. Then, there is orienting. In the past, international movement was supported by tour guides who would take the group to places that the tour had set as a way to have an experience. Today, moving through unfamiliar territory with local friends who can spare the time while the visit is happening, and then leaving space for exploration alone has allowed for an added depth of experience. No waste of time, every encounter has meaning, and nothing planned allows for surprises that add a richness. The experience of getting "lost" is a way to experience knowing what it is to learn how one's whole being can work with the conditions. How many chances do we have to do this in our well-planned, timely executed, and focused travels? Leaving room for being disoriented in real time is better than having the experience induced!

With no need to make a presentation or talk, to attend a meeting, or to take care of anyone else, it is a chance to let the unexpected be the guide. Sometimes it is welcome sights and sounds; and sometimes what can cross your path can be quite unwelcome. All of it makes for a kind of experience that has never before been a part of past journeys away from home. Mostly, trips have been marked by things being well planned, curated, and nicely structured to maximize pleasure, and minimize doubt.

This trip has been a trip.

The people, the sights, the chance to see that people still share the characteristic of wanting their stories to be understood and told, has been a gift. It has taken almost seven decades for a different kind of perspective to come this way. Recognizing the blessings, focusing on real time and real people (not the synthesis through others, both human and non-human), and seeing that there are some things that don't change, no matter where you are in the world - like the beauty of nature, is what this journey has shown.

And the world continues to be in turmoil.