The Journey

Note: This beautiful story about travel and waiting was written by my amazing niece Valerie. As life goes, Val has become more of younger a sister to me than a niece, and I am inspired by her writing and her perseverance as a human being. She's a fighter,an artist, and a beautiful soul. I think you'll agree with me after you read her story. Thanks Val for your many gifts and for sharing this story with all of us.

The Journey

I am a wanderer. A traveler. I meander through time with bright eyes and wide hope for new experiences. I, Valerie, am meant to move just slightly inside of Uncertainty. In another life, I was a gypsy; on foot with the nomads of that time. I know this because when I travel - I have a distinct feeling of being exactly where I am supposed to be; it is an energy and an awareness that is enlivening.

The process of traveling begins far before the expeditions take place. I know it intimately. It is openness in the heart to being a little bit uncomfortable, a little bit awkward, and a little bit out of the sweet familiarity of home. The groundwork within begins before any logistical decision of travels unfold. And once details of where and when (along with why, how and who) are realized, preparation is still occurring. Anticipation. Expectation. Hope. Worry. Excitement. Fear. Wonderment. All rolled in to one ball called Uncertainty. There exists such beauty in the unknown - and it is a loveliness that cannot be replicated.

From Iceland to Hawaii to the Canadian Rockies, I seek different corners of this great land. What makes my travels powerful long before and long after they occur is in the details and in the unfolding of my inward journey. It is a preparation for an experience that will influence, empower, and forever affect the fabric of my core. It is getting out of the familiar. It is getting out of the lines. It is getting out of the world that is boxed in nicely when I sleep in my own bed, in my own town, in my own world. My senses are revitalized, my character is renewed, and my perspective is properly put in place.

Oh - I assure you - I create an itinerary for my trips. I have lists, books, maps and notes. I poll people who have been there, and I learn a handful of new words and key places. I figure out the tipping norms and reacquaint myself with those universal signs. Inevitably, however, my travel experience is the manifestation of a plan I did not create. Ultimately, it is richer than I could have ever anticipated. In the little moments of waiting and in the grandeur pauses of time before an adventure - I am molded. And, the more places I go, near and far; the more colors I see and scents I breathe - I am made better. Those experiences of entering and exiting different splices of this great world offer an understanding that can only be fostered by the process of waiting. Preparing. Nurturing. Pausing. Renewing. Forming. Becoming.

In many ways I am still that gypsy - with feet dancing along the ground, eyes drifting towards those clouds, and a great big world to explore. And that anticipation, along with a fundamental understanding of the present moment, makes the Uncertainty attractive. There is such freedom in the openness. And so I move about in a lovely balance between eagerness, awareness, and appreciation of the vastness of this planet and the diversity of its people. That is why I travel. It is why I explore.

And why I wander.
And wait.
And wander yet again.