Travel has changed; it’s different in 2023. While we may not be traveling as much to far-off places, how do we approach each day as a travel journey? I’ve been reflecting on this question since the pandemic began three years ago, and as March 2023 rolls in, I’ve come up with some answers. I’m not a psychologist or a therapist, but experience has proven that as Womantravelers, we have or can access the tools if we’re willing to shift perspectives.
Ironically, the watery reflections of these birds on a log provided crisp clarity. The longest trip I took last week was to Anne Spring Close Greenway and nature preserve in Ft. Mill, SC, about 15 minutes away. A diverse 2,000 acre park and woodlands, it’s the vision and gift of a woman known in the Carolinas for her extraordinary generosity in the Carolinas. (More about her another time…)
Our Weekly Hikes Close to Home
Every Saturday, I trek through the greenway with another Womantraveler, and last week, rather than the hillier slopes, we hiked two loops around the lake (about 3.5 miles all in all). Four cormorants were perched on the log offshore when we started and three of them were there when we finished. It was a very grey day, in fact drizzling on and off. As we stopped and watched these birds, we noticed how they would turn their heads as if chatting with each other, then turn away again and seemingly gaze into the distance. Time seemed absolutely inconsequential to them, and they did not appear to be restless. We imagined their conversation out loud. “Did you see that fish jump about 30 yards away?” “Have you ever been on that log in the runoff pond?” “How many turtles have you counted today?” (By the way, the two of us spotted 8!) As we rounded the final stretch and saw only three birds, we figured the sentinel bird had flown into action because the fisherman we passed acknowledged contentedly that there were “lots of big fish today!”
A New Equilibrium – Life as Travel
In the past three years, my concept of travel has been as exciting as these birds’ experience – and as dull. Prior to March 15, 2020, I was often “on the road” for business or pleasure three out of four weeks for months at a time. The challenge during the abrupt “lockdown” became how to relieve the sameness of day after day and, not only that, but maintain a worldview while stuck at home without the frequent stimulation that travel affords. On the Resources & Inspiration page, I’ll regularly share books, films, articles, lectures and online conversations that open new adventures for me. However, I’ve become convinced that a new equilibrium is necessary, a new perspective about “life as travel.”
March is one of my least favorite months, wherever I’ve lived. The approaching spring is a big tease, with sturdy yellow daffodils and pink ornamental plum trees exploding in color. Yet, the last tentacles of winter remain a menacing reality. Here in the Carolinas, one day it is 80 degrees and the next day (like this one), gloomy with a cold penetrating rain. Every person’s daily rhythm is different, but instead of hopping on an airplane as often, I try to organize each day around the concept of “travel.” “Where will I go today?” even for a few minutes, a few hours, for another “adventure?” By labeling the journey “travel,” such as the 90 minutes in the Greenway, I approach the experience with a creative, open, adventuresome mind, as an explorer. I change my perspective and realize that I am, indeed, continuing to travel through life on my own terms.
