Transitions

As I was preparing to leave India, one of my friends sent a message wishing me safe travels.  He also asked, “It is more difficult to return from your journey to India or the long walk in Spain?”

This simple question scratched the surface of a much deeper state of my mind.  Ready or not, transitions are a fact of life.  Trips begin and trips end.  We grow older, graduate, get married, switch jobs, change relationships, and evolve.  Some are by choice and others are quite dramatic and unexpected.  These periods of time between events are the awkward emotional spaces where ties are cut from the known before settling into what is new.

While cliche, the idea of one door needing to close before the new one opens seems to fit my nomadic lifestyle.  Acknowledging the closed door is healthy; staring at it is not.  Surinder seems to simplify this by saying, “If we were meant to look backwards our eyes would be on the back of the heads.”  While I like this analogy, looking to far into the future can also create turmoil.

I find the best way to navigate the constant transition is to be very attached to the current moment and accepting it with gratitude.  The long trip home is a very good example of acceptance.  It takes 36 hours from the time I leave Rishikesh until I land in Boise.  23 of those hours are in the air.  Resisting the flights, wishing I was not there, and wanting to be somewhere else does not enhance the experience or make the time go faster.   Relaxing with a book, enjoying a movie, and catching a few zzz’s makes the long flights much more enjoyable.  Travel is a luxury not a burden.

Life is always better where I am.  Not where I was or may be going.