This morning, Thunder and I went for one of our usual walks.
Nothing extraordinary happened. No dramatic sunrise. No profound conversation with a stranger. Just the sound of birds, the soft morning air, and Thunder stopping every twelve seconds to sniff something deeply important to him.
And somewhere along the walk, I found myself thinking about all the people who are traveling this year.
I had asked on social media where everyone was headed, and I smiled reading through the responses:
Susan is going to Poland. Debbie is going to England, Wales, and Scotland. Wendy is touring her home state of Michigan. Nick is sailing from St. Croix to Connecticut with his daughter. Carol is going to Montenegro, maybe…she says. 😄
My studio assistant and friend, Cynthia, is currently finishing up a river boat cruise through Europe.
And me?
Well…I’m heading back to Croatia this Fall, and I’m taking 5 people with me. (More on that later.)
But as Thunder and I kept walking, I started thinking about something else entirely. I almost talked myself out of writing this blog this morning because I thought maybe talking about travel might make someone feel left out. Or stir up longing. Or remind someone of a trip they wish they could take but can’t.
Not everyone can hop on a plane to some faraway place, and life doesn’t always make room for that sort of thing.
But then it hit me… Aren’t we all traveling anyway?
Doesn’t life itself feel like one long journey?
Some people are crossing oceans this year. Others are navigating a hard season. Some are beginning something new. Some are saying goodbye to something old. Some are simply trying to find their footing again.
And maybe all of it counts as travel.
When we travel somewhere unfamiliar, we tend to become more awake to the world around us. We notice details. We look at buildings longer. We read little plaques. We observe people. We marvel at textures and colors and food and sounds that locals probably don’t even think twice about anymore.
Travel makes us pay attention.
But maybe that way of seeing isn’t reserved only for foreign countries and airplane tickets.
Maybe wonder is available to us all the time if we’re willing to slow down enough to notice it.
Even on an ordinary dog walk.
Back in January, I was on another walk with Thunder...but we were on the island of Lopud, near Dubrovnik, Croatia.
It always amazes me just how BIG this world is, and I felt that feeling overwhelmingly when I was on this tiny island. It made me want to focus on the tiny things. Things that most would walk right past unless they stopped an really looked.
So I filmed stuff with that in mind and made a video with the footage from my special cameras!
Of course I painted a lot of stuff in my travel journal about this island of Lopud visit...but I made the video in hopes it ignites your zest for noticing the tiny details and perhaps, too, this video will bring you some zen today.
Especially if you're traveling through a hard time right now...
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