Do you ever get the itch to just drop everything and go? I'm not talking about a weekend in the mountains or even two weeks at a resort in Hawaii drinking mai tais. I mean really go. Put your shit in storage, break your lease, sell your car and disappear. For some it would also include quitting your job but, I have the benefit of not worrying about such things. Well, I get that feeling a few times a week. Lately, it's been a few times a day.
Don't get me wrong. I love my life in Hermosa Beach. I'm incredibly spoiled. I have an ocean view from my living room, I ride my bike everywhere, have two amazing chocolate labs, work a few days a week when I want to, and live in a spot that people vacation to every summer. I live a very charmed life. The problem that plagues this charming life is a restlessness in my soul to be on the move. And in truth I'd prefer to be on the move on my own. All alone. Deficiency of character? No. I'm an escapist.
There is no amount of money or level of success that can compare to the feeling of tramping by ones self. All possessions in a single backpack, no computer, no cell phone, no credit card. It is incredibly freeing and it's a feeling that I am long overdue for. J. Maarten Troost says it best in his book, 'Getting Stoned with Savages'. "The escapist doesn't want to get ahead. [She] simply wants to get away."
So, while I may be taking the logical route this weekend by spending a few days snowboarding with friends, I know for certain it will in no way satiate the urge to hit the open road with my backpack and a one-way ticket to..........
xo jahnel
I did just pack up and leave...the country. But before that I had learned to be happy with what I was and what I had and that is what made me stay in one place all those years.
ReplyDeleteIf you have to go, then by all means GO!!
Oh yes, I know that feeling very, very well. For ten years I lived a similar life to you. Working like crazy, living cheap, then taking off when the money seemed enough. India, Nepal, Australia, Mexico, the Cook Islands -- you name it. And lots of adventures I had too. Then one day I found this place, and knew in my heart of hearts that it's the place I was looking for all along (and the man, and the cats, and the children, the garden and the chickens). So I stayed. Love your blog! Louise in Italy.
ReplyDeleteI have to disagree, I don't find tramping around by oneself without a credit card or cell phone freeing, I find it frightening. Especially when you don't speak the language or know how to get where you are going. It is exhilarating in the end, but I think it is kinda like a haunted house, you don't feel relief till its over. Traveling with a plan- I LOVE!!
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