Living like a Traveler
So here in Kailua, taking a little day trip to soothe my nerves from a week of hectic work in Honolulu, I noticed one thing that we can all learn from those traveling to the place where we live. They all seem to know how to live life. The kayakers, the paddle boarders, the swimmers, all out in the water early (early!) in the morning, enjoying what the blue Pacific has to offer. Others at their breakfast tables, merrily looking out to sea and dining in a way that looks much like their breakfast tables at home, in that they are all sitting around them, yet there is something different. Their attentiveness to the meal and each other, their enthusiasm for the day…it seems a bit more intentional than normal. Not in a Disneyland, I can’t wait to get on the ride, way, but in a more natural and wholesome way. I can imagine this is how life around the breakfast table must have been in 1950s America; quality, confident, relaxed, with hope for the coming day of experiences and perhaps surprises…good surprises.
Why is it that we shift our thinking like that, when we travel, and we don’t live that way every day, I wondered?
One of the reasons, I reckoned, as I sat there, soaking in the vibe from the travelers, is that they had cast the world that they left behind (Beijing, Los Angeles, Tokyo, Antwerp I heavily assumed by their looks, not always a smart thing to assume, but let’s just say for the sake of this discussion). Is that so? Maybe. We do block out the past, the distant, and the unpleasant things in our lives when we travel, but it seems as though there may be something else. Something more about their presence here, in this new and unfamiliar place, perhaps. Again, jumping into the minds of other travelers is merely my way of projecting what I do when I travel. I tend to actually do an extreme version of this ‘leaving the world behind’ when I travel. I will often try to learn the customary greetings, and use them, and also intentionally eat the food that is ‘typical’ for a meal in the places I visit, even wear clothing that matches the look and customs (i.e., a lava lava in Samoa, nice leather shoes and groovier-than-normal glasses in Milan, or intentionally conservative attire in Riyadh). Do you do that too? I think this may be one of the several ways that we all escape during our traveling periods, whether we simply leave others or other things behind, and take on the mantle of the place we are visiting. I realize that this suspension of your previous life, wherever you came from, and adoption of your new life (albeit temporary during your visit) is the key to this new way of viewing your day. It’s a rebirth, a divorcing of sorts, from your old life in a way that is safe, because, after all, you must go back, except for those who are so ecstatic about their experience that they cast all of the old away forever, and stay (it happens, I hear, but its relatively rare).
In Hawaii, where I am making these observations, you see it immediately when visitors step off (often on) the plane, specifically in how the leis go on, and the aloha comes out; out of the mouths of the visitors, following the lead of those of us who live here. Its OK, and we welcome you to follow…join in. A-lo-ha. And that spirit stays with you, as you paddle, swim, eat, and live. And I now realize, even I need to travel somewhere, to regain a similar spirit, too. Maybe visiting the place where you live.
