words by maxie riemenschneider
why i love to travel, i ask myself.
why do i travel how i travel, you ask me.
traveling for me means to break free of this everyday life and get to know new things. learn something fresh from the people i meet. encounters that are often missed out in the daily grind, when there is no time, openness and attention for them.
traveling means living in the moment, not thinking about yesterday and not planning for tomorrow. being open for what is happening right now and connect to the people, who are with me here in this moment. appreciating everyone just as he*she is and accept instead of convict him*her already in the first second. we are coming from different directions, our ways lead us here, until here we have so different lives and probably we will take different paths in the future and still the universe decided that exactly here in this moment and on this place we should meet. no matter where we are from, where we are going, what counts is the relationship in that present moment.
traveling means sucking in all this positive energy, looking at the world with a sparkle in my eyes, and see the positive of this life. fall in love with little things, enjoy to be without time, but with sunlight, pretty flowers, a long breakfast with fruits – appreciating all these positive happy moments. to trust and to know that whatever happens will be just right. nothing goes wrong. and even if something is difficult, i know i will learn from it and grow and that´s why it is still alright.
traveling also means to me to realize that i don´t need much to live. two shirts, a long sleeve, a jacket, one pants, a leggings, a skirt, a pair of good hiking boots, and a rain jacket, just in case. a tent, sleeping bag, mat, knife, torch, water and food, all packed in a waterproof backpack and go… my home carried on my shoulders. the same shoulders that used to feel so heavy from all the things i own, all the obligations and responsibilities. this normal life that is like a chunk hanging on my leg. now i can open up my tent and have an accommodation everywhere and anytime – this great feeling of being home in this world, where ever i am. my favorite places to travel are those with a lot of sun and the sea, for me huge sources of vitality. fountains of contentment and ease.
traveling means to only have a rough idea why i am here right now, what i want and where i want to go – with the possibility to change this idea every minute and do something else. to be in the flow, admit only to the now and say yes where i usually would have said rather no.
traveling means learning. i learn from the people around me, from nature, from staying only with myself. i learn from getting in touch with other ways of living, from short or long conversations with people, from their lifestyle, boring or interesting insights and from everything they show and teach me. additional, i learn from their great hospitality and kindness, many people i meet offer everywhere in this world. this great pleasure arises the feeling in me to give something back to someone on his journey somewhere else later.
finally traveling means also to leave footprints in this world. to inspire others in conversations, with my stories, my lifestyle and ideals. little seeds that are spread, which perhaps flower one day in beautiful colors.
back in germany i ask myself every time: how can i integrate all of this into my daily routine?
there, where responsibilities are waiting. where deadlines are fixed and events planned months ahead. where there is no seaside and the never ending sunshine who provide energy but where i also can find winter, coldness and rain. often way too quickly i am back in this old rut. openness is replaced by bigotry and ignorance. vitality by tiredness, variety by monotonicity. my fresh recharged batteries full of positive energy, are used up so quickly. i sink into 100 projects, because i can´t miss out on anything – without realizing how much pressure i put again on my shoulders, that just shortly before have been freed from all this ballast.
but this time i am sure, everything will be different. this time i learned from that. this time i will integrate the light feeling of traveling in my day to day routine. but wait didn´t i said that last time already? and the time before that? and before that?