Why I Travel

According to contemplative traveler, Pico Iyer, travel releases us from our preconceived impressions of the world, at the same time that it humbles us. He says that racism and xenophobia result from not being exposed to cultures that are different from ours.  But I would take this one step further.  Most of us have encountered people who are different from us, and this might, in fact, be what causes us to be fearful of them.  Traveling puts us in the midst of that difference when we become the foreigners. Humility begins when we don't understand how things are done, don't speak the language, and need to rely on the kindness of strangers to show us the way.

For my own part, I love being just outside my comfort zone.  It is like a roller coaster; as I rise to the top of that psychic mountain, I know I'm going to scream with terror, and it's going to feel so good. The catharsis will be so profound, even as I dread it. 

When I was a child we used to go to Spain by ship across the Atlantic to visit my grandparents. These voyages were some of my best childhood experiences. Growing up in NYC, I rarely had the opportunity to see an uninterrupted horizon, or witness a sunset. On the ship, I would stand on deck for hours, imagining that I could see the curve of the earth in my peripheral vision. I never tired of this activity, nor of the smell of salty sea air nor the slippery shellacked decks.

Our stateroom was on the tourist class deck, just above the luggage hold—below sea level so there were no portholes to look out of. Just a pair of bunks and a sink for my family to share. The bathroom was down the hall. No matter; my sister and I were enthralled. My mother, normally extremely overprotective, let us run around the ship all day. Where would we go? There was nowhere to get lost, but we certainly tried. We’d spend the day exploring the other decks. Cabin class was just above tourist class and then we’d sneak up to the first class deck in hopes that someone would be exiting their room at the moment we passed by, so we could see how the other half lived. 

The dining room was the most elegant place I’d ever eaten, and I had a 7 year old’s crush on our waiter Paul, who’d explain the menu to us. Even though there was only one selection for each course, the food was always delicious and appetizing in its presentation. 

Even tourist class had a swimming pool on deck and I remember having the awareness that I was floating in a body of salt water that was floating in a larger body of salt water. 

At night I would be gently rocked to sleep by the motion of the ship, which was more soporific than a lullaby or bedtime story.

So it is from these memories that I launch my next journey. A somewhat guilty pleasure, as I realize many people consider cruises to be quite decadent. I’m just carrying out a childhood fantasy of wanting to sail around the world. It will only be 8 days, and only Greece and Turkey but I’m ready to embark upon this next marine adventure with as much nostalgia as excitement.

wake up my dear heart
the world is speeding away
your share of life
is being wasted away
don’t just sleep in the body
or uselessly sit about
the caravan of life
is not waiting around

– Rumi