Travel Muses

I should be writing an abstract for some stupid conference. It's in Vancouver, and I am pretty pumped about going there, esp. since one of the field trips planned for the geeky attendees is a white water rafting trip, and am I looking forward to that! Well my excitement at that prospect has caused me to venture on the procrastination path.

Day dreaming about Vancouver got me thinking about why I love to travel so much. Its almost an addiction. Like the dopamine causes withdrawal if I stay away from it for too long (did I get my neurochem correct, I wonder?). And...I have been away, its been near 6 months, and I havent moved from Indiana soil (and snow). Well, I went to IL, but that doesnt really count, does it.

Moving, seeing, exploring ..it opens me. I think thats why I keep seeking it over and over again. All my internal gates are opened and things, feelings, thoughts, people, sights, sound...all go in and out freely. The flow is free and unrestrained and its so very very refreshing. Refreshing and exhilirating. After every new exploration I feel like I've gotten new lungs and realized new ways of breathing.

At the end of a travel session, I come back to my functional life, and the lungs start getting old, tired and foggy. Until another time to travel comes around, and the whole process is repeated. Although it seems sort of repetitive to go thru it over and over again, what I like about it is that even a few days of travel, even a week, and its enough to give me 'new lungs' that last for upto a year I think. Thats my max limit after which, if I dont get up and go somewhere, I begin to rot and pine for more.

Metaphorizing apart, travel comes with a practical component thats hard not to ignore. It costs money, although Lonely Planet shoe-strings do of course help. As a grad student, the dollars are sure hard to come by. And then theres the time factor...trying to write a thesis doesnt really give you too many days at a stretch to spare. And as a woman, its harder to feel 'safe' as I travel alone. A friend once said I was very flippant and had no risk perception. Probably why I've been where I've been and loved it so. And I only want more of it.

Either way, neither way, the addiction is still going strong, and I know theres no way I'll ever be in rehab for it :) Heres to travelling!