Wanderlust

To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people just exist. - Oscar Wilde

I love that word. Wanderlust. It says so much in 10 letters. It casts an image, not just of wanting to travel, but of something deeper. Everyone likes to leave behind the constraints of home for a while, to take a vacation and travel away from the responsibilities of everyday life. But most do not want to embrace the unfamiliar without comfort or a plan or a return ticket. That! That's what makes it more than just a temporary escape. Not having any idea where you are going, and feeling freedom in that question mark. Shedding the trepidation of no itinerary, and feeling excitement, 'lust', at the prospect of seeing the unexpected, learning about the unknown and making mistakes that will be the stories we tell and the secrets we keep.

This idea of wanderlust is part of what I seek in nature. I write often of the peacefulness and the quiet, the easy familiarity of time spent outdoors. Yet, that time and experience can also be the exact opposite of peaceful and easy. Adventure, mental and physical challenge, getting lost, discovering new territory, feeling gloriously uncomfortable, building knowledge in places and things that you didn't know before and didn't even know that you didn't know before. Wandering is the thing we do in the woods or the mountains or the beach. We call it hiking or climbing or strolling, but it is the most basic form of wandering that there is, and the true satisfaction of it is NOT knowing how or when we will return.

Yes, I still have a bad case of wanderlust in the traditional sense of the word. Traveling for the sake of traveling, to meet new people, eat new foods, hear new languages, those are all pieces of this life that I have glimpsed and long to weave into my story in a larger way. I will get the chance to scratch that itch in a bigger way in the future, I am sure of it. But waiting until the precarious future isn't really an option. I can wander and discover the unknown right now, in nature. That wanderlust is waiting to be explored. It's simple. Just go outside.