Waiting for Travel

Practicing the act of having new eyes in your most familiar spaces

Happy Weekend! Has Autumn Actually Arrived?

It’s 49 degrees today in Superior, Colorado. What a gift after a killer week of 95+ degrees! My windows are open. The cool morning breeze is blowing the steam of my second cup of coffee and causing the fire of the candles on my desk to dance. How I love the change of seasons! Autumn, I’m welcoming you today. Please don’t leave too soon.

Getting Good at Seeing Each Day

Not only do I love the changing seasons, I pretty much love change in general. I get antsy and bored much too easily, and thrive when something new is on the calendar to look towards. Do you?

I’m a planner, and I plan with anticipation each coming month. Like you, I’m thrilled to place a holiday to Europe or Puerto Rico on absolutely any month’s 31-day agenda. But as we all know, not every day, month or even year can hold a holiday to swoon over with anxious anticipation.

Despite the truth that soul-renewing holiday’s can be few and far between, the older I get, the more nostalgic and intentional I become about how I’m living and seeing each moment - holiday or not.

Most days of life aren’t spent in Thailand or Hawaii, Fiji or the Cinque Terre. Most days are spent at home…surrounded by the familiar…doing the normal…wake up, get it done, go to bed, repeat. And the truth is these days are precious, too. They are fleeting. They are worthy of not being missed.

But I miss a lot.

Being present with the day-to-day has never been my forté. So as a new way to combat my discontent and disconnect with these moments, I’ve been practicing the art of calendaring intentional, slow, local “travel” days here at home. And I’m happy to say that these days are now turning into a mindset that is actually following me into every moment of every single day. This intentionality is starting to change everything. Choosing to see and stop and wonder everywhere I go is changing me.

These local “travel” days started by reinvigorating my awareness of the beauty right in front of me. They satisfied my wanderlust in magical and unexpected ways as I waited to hop on a plane. And now, the intentional attitude of wonder in the middle of the familiar is spilling over into every moment. I love it! And it’s this simple and profound mental switch that is saving me right now.

Do you have a wanderlust itch that you can’t scratch anytime soon? Do you feel like you’re just breezing through each day, feeling and noticing nothing much at all and wishing to just get away? Hmmm…maybe this can help.

Traveling 10 Miles From My Front Door

For almost 20 years I have lived only a few miles from Boulder, Colorado. For many, this is a dream holiday destination. For me, Boulder is where I shop at Trader Joes. It’s where I go to the doctor. It’s where I buy a new mattress or swing into Mod Market to get salad for lunch.

Though the sight of the Flatirons never goes unnoticed in my view, many other things about a city I have loved for so long have become second nature. I know her so well that sometimes I fail to see her.

She deserves to be seen.

This week I was lucky enough to stay with my husband at a hotel in downtown Boulder. It felt weird at first to have an overnighter just 10 miles from my own cozy bed. But it was SO GOOD.

What did I do? I walked.

I walked and walked and walked some more.

I’d seen it all before…Pearl Street, mountain views, the Farmer’s Market, the St. Julien, Boulder Creek, the street performer who squeezes himself into a box…all familiar…all still there.

This time the difference was me.

This time, as I strolled along each familiar street, turning at every normal intersection, I kept repeating, “Jesus, what do you want me to see?” Then I moved slowly and noticed. I sat on the ground under trees and felt the dirt, and allowed myself to be captured by the bug on the hibiscus flower that was fading from vibrant red to a pale pinkish-brown. I focused in on little details instead of broad sweeping views. I savored my favorite Spruce Confections latte and peach walnut scone much slower than ever before, and stopped to chat with a guy holding a sign on the street asking for money to feed his dog. Intentional presence. This was a real holiday…right here at home. Everything was new, and in an odd little way, now so am I.

Learning to savor, see, and move at a pace that calms my nervous system brings me into the present. That has not always been easy for me.

And curiosity makes me come alive. Whether I’m curious about places unseen or places right in front of my eyes, they all matter and can bring joy.

So whether you are in Budapest or on your local street corner buying milk for tomorrow’s breakfast, take time to SEE it all with new eyes. Soon you might feel like you’re never waiting for travel because travel is actually consuming almost every moment in your calendar of days.

Happy Travels!

Amy