Saturday, November 01, 2008

On Being - and Not Being - a Gypsy


I spent most of October travelling.

I don’t usually blog when I’m travelling. For me, the time to talk about my travels is after I return. Travel is like breathing-in; writing is like breathing-out. I find it impossible to do both at the same time.

And even when I do talk about the places I have been, the things I’ve seen and the people I’ve met, I usually don’t do it all at once. All I write, at first, is a brief account of the trip. Like the one I just wrote about this October trip (which you are welcome to read if you are interested; you'll find it here). The rest – the impressions, the feelings, the sights and sounds and smells of my journeying – gets put away for future use as needed. Like herbs hung to dry. So I guess I am not cut out to be a travel writer.

But I would make a hopeless travel writer anyway. I am always too busy having fun and taking pictures to go around collecting the sort of important, factual information that travel magazines need for their sidebars.

Right now, I am feeling unsettled. I always feel unsettled, for a while after I come back from a trip. Getting me away from my home needs an emotional tyre lever. But then getting me settled back into home again needs a tyre lever also. Crazy, isn’t it? I think being a Cancerian with wanderlust is probably quite a difficult sort of person to be. Two opposing forces facing each other like football teams on the field of my poor old psyche!

Neither side can ever win, of course. The answer to such inner dilemmas, as we all know, is always fully to accept and honour all the disparate and sometimes conflicting parts of who we are.

OK, I’m trying, I’m trying…….!

3 comments:

One Woman's Journey - a journal being written from Woodhaven - her cottage in the woods. said...

I smile at all your sharing and the wonderful pictures. You look so tan, healthy and happy. I relate to you about being pried away from our homes. I have not traveled in years and Italy was always on my wish list. Thank you for letting me join you.

Anonymous said...

Being a Cancerian I can relate to your post. A few years ago I was disturbed when I realised that although in my mind I am a gypsy, I love being home, home, home, in my own space. When I try and do the gypsy thing I love it but it does conflict with my love of home. If I find a place I love whilst travelling it is very difficult for me to move to the next tourist destination. I just want to stay!
Bella

joared said...

What a wonderful trip, lovely pictures and your account made me feel almost as though I was there with you. My travels outside the U.S. have been limited but had always hoped to do more. I think any time away from home releases unique thoughts and feelings causing conflicting feelings of wanting to stay, travel further, even return home at any given moment.

I've lived in enough different U.S.A. locations to enjoy thinking of what a new life in a new locale might be like, appreciate the prospect of meeting new people and having the luxury of exploring a new area at my leisure.

Personally, I think your approach to writing about your travels is more to my taste as you allow the experiences to integrate and marinate for later sharing.