Gratitude from around the Globe
Everywhere. As far as the eye can see; that’s where I’m grateful. It starts and ends at home. Having to watch the sun rise and set every single day in my home town without the promise of escape and adventure is like never having the chance to read a book and experience a story outside of your own. Being able to create life-altering milestones and memories is a type of control that I never take for granted. It follows me on the road, wherever that may be. The movement puts my soul at ease. Having the ability to leave my house and choose the direction and proximity of my destination makes me thankful. It’s breaking out of my routine and exploring the unfamiliar.
Whether I’m on my way to a Bermudian beach on a bus that’s packed so tightly your body doesn’t sway on the turns, or on a hilltop at night overlooking the stars and city lights of the French Riviera; this is where you’ll find me, grateful. Speaking to the locals in their native tongue makes me mindful of the opportunities at hand. Whether I’m almost late catching the Leonardo Express to Fiumicino Airport due to the language barrier, or buying cheese in Italian from a family in Tuscany that has no English skills of their own. It follows me to Swiss mountaintops and to the bridges of New York City, to elegant dinners at Italian resorts and to family-owned barbeque joints on the Texas roadside. Anything that shocks my senses and rewires my brain is a gift, yet so are the places that, though thousands of miles away, embody the essence of home. Travel makes you vulnerable, but it also bonds you to each person who crosses your path.
The same can be said for those you choose to be by your side, growing, learning, opening yourself up, allowing yourself to be changed and challenged, together. I am grateful for each friendship born and each friendship strengthened in the name of wanderlust. It leads me home to share the world. Through anecdotes and photos, I teach the ones I love, reminisce with those who can relate, and encourage those who, for whatever reason, cannot set their own quest in motion. I am their ambassador. Soon after I’ll take a look at the map that hangs in my home, checking it daily. It’s a representation of my dreams, the life I share as an independent traveler and as a part of traveling couple.
I’ll study the map, wondering where I’ll end up next, whether it will be of my choosing or if I’ll find myself dropping a pin due to chance and circumstance. As I write this, I plan for my next trip and relish in doing so, maybe not on a map but in my mind. And pretty soon I’ll leave home again, navigating uncharted lands for us, grateful for each foreign word I speak, dish I eat, and step I take towards devouring the entire globe.
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