Thursday, January 12, 2012

New Year, New Start, New Ideas.....

 Traveling?  Part I

Where would you go, if money and time were no object?  What places have you secretly (or not so secretly) longed to see?  Would it be a city whose architecture has intrigued you?  A place with art-work that leaves you breathless?  Somewhere filled with the music that captivates you?  A wild, lonely mountain or an endless forest?  A home to a people-group and culture that have pulled at your heart you since you were a child?  Would it be a warm, sunny place, or knee-deep in snow?  Would it be populated or isolated?  Would there be fabulous buildings or would it be wild nature in all its glory?

Where would you go?

I have wanted to visit New Zealand since I was young.  After seeing Peter Jackson's New Zealand in the Lord Of The Rings trilogy, I want to see it even more!  My niece wants to go to Dominica in the Caribbean.  My sister would love to go to a warm beach right now ~ Tahiti? Bali?.  My sister-in-law is more of a Peter Jenkins type than a Peter Jackson ~ she is fascinated by the beauty of our own country and would love to see the places along the way between the East Coast and the West (with a nice lay-over in Texas to visit a dear friend, of course!).

So why not?  Why not just take off and go see these places?  Because we are practical, adult women, that's why!  We have families who need us.  We have homes to take care of, laundry to wash, dinners to cook, and kitchens to clean.  We have responsibilities in our community and (for two of us) to our employers.  Besides that, only two of us have current passports; have you priced passports and visas lately?  Then there is the cost of air or ship travel, places to stay, meals along the way.....are you tired yet, because I sure am!  Flying is very difficult for me because of medical devices (you try explaining medical devices to TSA agents!).  There is the hassle factor of trying to figure out the logistics of such a big trip.  Then there is the challenge of only having a certain amount of time before you have to go back home.  Could you be content with having to rush through something that you could spend a year (or a lifetime) enjoying?  If you were on the beach in Tahiti, hiking through the mountains of Colorado, sailing the Caribbean, or absorbing the mountains of New Zealand, would you really want to feel the pressure of an impending deadline to get back home again?

The old saying tells us, "Home is Where the Heart Is".  Our hearts are with our families.  While we would love to wander and explore these places, our hearts would be tugging us back home.  While we all enjoy breaks from the daily routine, we would all be homesick in a very short period of time!

But there is still a longing to go and travel and explore.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I have more than one: Kay Arthur's trip to Israel (If I had the money), Germany & Holland to find family (if I had the money), a trip up north to see family (if someone was here to help with my dad), a trip to see my friend who like crafts as much as I do (again help with my dad).
Praying God will provide so that one of these can be achieved this summer.
Debbie