I read constantly .... I have the type of job where I read for a large part of the day (and spend the rest of the time talking about the material read). I read two newspapers a day. I read a multitide of magazines - some fun and some serious. I always have several books on the go. Every evening I spend some time writing in a journal and then read (or dip into as I really think of it) anywhere from a few to many pages of 'inspirational' books. But you know, as much as I have always loved fiction, I absolutely can no longer read fiction. I try .... I read book reviews and purchase novels that really interest me. I start them ... eventually they sit, mostly unread on my table until I finally pack them away - embarassed I have neglected to pick them up again and finish them. I think I see every abandoned book as a failure.
Lately, the books I have been reading are travel books and memoirs written about lives lived in other countries or travels in other countries. This seems to satisfy, at least a bit, the overwhelming urge I have to take off to exotic places.
I have always loved to travel. It goes hand in hand with a sense of curiosity and love of learning. Travel satisfies both of those urges and inspires an interest in new things. It is impossible to take a trip - any trip - and come back without some new inspiration or interest. The last few years though I have been mainly returning to familiar places. Not that this is a bad thing ... when I go to either London or Barbados I feel I am going home. I could live in London and I have lived in Barbados. I love both places deeply. But it is time to branch out. I have vowed to myself that as of 2008, it is time to start traveling again and time to step out of the familiar.
I do have a trip to London in October .... planned and booked before the vow. Once I made this decison, I started researching. I research not because I have to have everything planned, but rather because it allows me to learn about places. I first thoght of South America - I definitely want to go there. But I somehow landed on Africa as my next destination. I'm having a lot of fun reading about different possibilities in Africa. The more I read, the more completely fascinated I become. I've been renting any movies I can find that are set in Africa ... just to watch the scenery. For the travel starved, movies are a good way to transport yourself for a bit.
Blogs are another way .... my friend Kelly is partly responsible for this latest urge to travel. I was lucky enough to be on a couple of Kelly's travelogue emails and of course read her blog entries. So, I also vow to start writing about the daily discoveries and meanderings the my reading takes me through. I hope to use the internet extensively in this.
I also plan to sit by the little stream near where I live that has become my favourite meditation spot and let the universe speak to me. That might sound flaky, but I find if I shut off some of the noise, the universe actually does speak. It might tell me where I need to go to find what I'm supposed to find.
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