Travel Therapy
Traveling has a way of bringing one back to the things that are most important. Last summer I went on a road trip through Canada and around the great lakes. It was just me and my car for a week and a half. I crossed Canada along the north shore of Lake Superior, then went down through Michigan and south around Lake Erie, through Niagara to Toronto, and straight back through Michigan, across Lake Michigan on a carferry, to home in Minneapolis. As usual when I travel, seeing the city upon my return reminded me how much I appreciate the place in which I live. There is no better way to know how good you have it than to return home after a trip and see it with new perspective.
When I set out from Thunder Bay, Ontario on the second day of my trip, I experienced a feeling of invincibility. I had eight hours to go before I reached Sault St. Marie. The scenery was stunning, with amazing views I would only have expected to see along the ocean or in the mountains. I felt I was in control of my destiny and I could do anything I wanted to do.
In the end, 2005 turned out to be a bit of an off year for me. I felt like everything I had touched had turned to shit. People seemed to be conspiring to make me fail. Women were mean to me. I started to feel like I needed to do something to break free of the slump and get my mind working again. I did not want to lose the feeling I got from that road trip.
Shortly after I returned from the roadtrip, in early September, I thought about getting involved with a springer spaniel rescue program after reading about it on the internet. I thought about getting involved with charitable work in Africa after reading about Grassroot Soccer. I needed to do something to offset the terrible feeling of defeat that was creeping over me.
I've started planning my trip to Germany in June and that is something to look forward to. This past weekend I started work on some revisions to a web site I set up, blueskysoccer.com. And I initiated the process of setting up a not-for-profit company organized around that site with some friends, the purpose being promotion of soccer and hopefully some fundraising for Grassroot Soccer.
Sometimes it is hard to appreciate home when you are always there. I forget that I've got great friends and family who are behind me and I've got better living than most of the people in the world. Before I started traveling I was ignorantly blissful of my situation. Now I can barely get by unless I have a trip abroad to look forward to. I wish I could experience the feeling of coming home every day.
When I set out from Thunder Bay, Ontario on the second day of my trip, I experienced a feeling of invincibility. I had eight hours to go before I reached Sault St. Marie. The scenery was stunning, with amazing views I would only have expected to see along the ocean or in the mountains. I felt I was in control of my destiny and I could do anything I wanted to do.
In the end, 2005 turned out to be a bit of an off year for me. I felt like everything I had touched had turned to shit. People seemed to be conspiring to make me fail. Women were mean to me. I started to feel like I needed to do something to break free of the slump and get my mind working again. I did not want to lose the feeling I got from that road trip.
Shortly after I returned from the roadtrip, in early September, I thought about getting involved with a springer spaniel rescue program after reading about it on the internet. I thought about getting involved with charitable work in Africa after reading about Grassroot Soccer. I needed to do something to offset the terrible feeling of defeat that was creeping over me.
I've started planning my trip to Germany in June and that is something to look forward to. This past weekend I started work on some revisions to a web site I set up, blueskysoccer.com. And I initiated the process of setting up a not-for-profit company organized around that site with some friends, the purpose being promotion of soccer and hopefully some fundraising for Grassroot Soccer.
Sometimes it is hard to appreciate home when you are always there. I forget that I've got great friends and family who are behind me and I've got better living than most of the people in the world. Before I started traveling I was ignorantly blissful of my situation. Now I can barely get by unless I have a trip abroad to look forward to. I wish I could experience the feeling of coming home every day.
posted by Andy at
1:07 PM
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