The game of searching
I love traveling; it makes no difference whether the destination is near or far.
Walking, cycling, or traveling by car, bus, or train, it doesn’t matter.
You can travel to unfamiliar surroundings right here in your own country.
It is a fact that our freedom of movement is currently restricted.
Now is a time to reflect on your past travels and experiences.
For me, travel is a metaphor for life.
Through travel, I experience adventure, the freedom to choose what to do, the chance to push boundaries, and the need for flexibility.
Unexpected encounters, new cultures, new scents, the list is endless and unique to everyone.
I find great joy in wandering; it makes the journey fun and interesting, especially since there is no fixed idea of what you might encounter along the way.
And realizing that there is no need to fear the unknown.
Travel fosters a capacity for improvisation, a skill that is often put to the test.
The act of wandering while trying to find the right direction is a truly beautiful part of that process.
How do you move? What do you do? How flexible are you? Do you stand still?
What do you see, hear, smell, and feel? Can you enjoy the experience, even your mistakes? Can you laugh about them?
Travel is like a game, the game of searching.
While traveling, it becomes clear that only the now truly exists…
And no matter what you encounter, you always return from a journey stronger.
All those impressions and the ability to improvise give you the capacity to change direction.
Let me stick with the theme of travel for a moment.
By observing closely, keeping things in perspective, drawing on your knowledge and experience, going with the flow, and—above all—daring to take a chance, you can leave your current path behind and change direction.
During a trip to visit family in South Africa, we were driving through the Drakensberg mountains.
The road was riddled with deep potholes and kept getting worse. We started to have doubts: should we really keep going? How much worse would the road get? What if we broke down? There was no roadside assistance nearby, nor were there any obvious back roads. We began running through “what-if” scenarios in our minds. We drove on and found ourselves facing a gravel track that looked extremely difficult to navigate. What should we do? It was getting late, and in South Africa, darkness falls suddenly.
It’s as if a light switch is flipped; there is no twilight period.
Turning back wasn’t an option. The area is sparsely populated, with not a soul or a house in sight for miles around—just magnificent mountains and sweeping vistas.
We decided to get out of the car and simply enjoy the surroundings first. It was incredibly beautiful there. Then, out of nowhere, a truck appeared; it stopped and pointed us toward a small mountain back road, “in case we dared,” the driver said with a broad grin. So, we set off up the mountain track without knowing where it led. The road wasn’t on the map, and there was no mobile phone reception. Trusting that things would work out, and trusting what we’d been told—we headed in this “other” direction.
And what an exciting drive it turned out to be. Everything worked out fine.
For me, this is where the power of travel lies. You see a path come to a dead end, and you realize what it means to have to turn back and look for a different direction.
When you apply that to life, it represents a new perspective. It is a matter of finding and defining the right direction; once that is done, the necessary changes add extra quality to our lives.
It is a human trait to dislike change. We resist it, we are lazy, we procrastinate, and we engage in avoidance; we work too hard, fail to set boundaries (or overstep them), and do not stand up for ourselves; we resort to self-destructive behaviors like alcohol or drug abuse. We try to justify our day by shifting responsibility and pinning our hopes on the future, telling ourselves that then we will fix things. “Tomorrow I’m going to…” or “I couldn’t help it because the train was late, but tomorrow I’ll be on time.” The reality, however, is that you forgot to set your alarm, missed the train, and arrived late as a result.
Only when a desire for change is awakened can we become open to other possibilities and directions. The sense of urgency must be felt.
We are all living through a time that calls for a different approach.
The sense of urgency applies to both small and large issues, and it is being felt right now.
Where do you feel that urgency? Are you looking for a different perspective? What do you long for? What do you truly want to change?
Whatever change you seek, the journey toward that different future inevitably involves adventure, uncertainty, and letting go of things you are currently holding onto—or things that are holding you back. And when you really think about it, that is actually incredibly exciting, because it gives you the chance to tell a new story.
Finally, take a look back. How have you lived your life? How did you make your choices? What would you like to do differently? After all, the way you handle things ultimately shapes your history.