A Short Reflection on the Road

 

Life, as it is called, is for most of us one long postponement. Henry Miller

As summer comes to an end, my thoughts once again turn to the road and my departure to Oaxaca. I feel very fortunate to be able to live the life I do, moving back and forth between two beautiful places. But travel is much more than just a beautiful place. As Henry Miller once wrote, "One's destination is never a place but rather a new way of looking at things". The ability to live this lifestyle is a matter of good fortune on one hand and priorities and the right choices on the other. 

I recently received an e-mail from a friend who is an accomplished photographer and children's book author. He has just submitted his 115th book for publication and is ready to start another. He wrote,"In one sense I feel very blessed and seeing life through the perspective of age. In a couple of months I'll be 85. Retire? I did that when I turned 30 and began to do what I wanted to do. And I'm still doing it". 

His words struck a chord with me. Isn't that what it is all about, doing what you really want to do in life? How many of us put that off until "retirement", only to find out it is too late? 

The sketch that illustrates this post was done by Marie on one of our trips to Mexico. We met on the road and the road played an integral part of our 35 years together. When Marie passed away, I decided to continue the lifestyle that we so loved. It is certainly a different journey, but still full of wonder and newness. I wrote a poem after Marie's death to accompany her sketch:

Asi es el camino

Watch out for the train

The roads of Mexico

heading south toward the border

make me wonder where we are going,

where we belong.

Home is where the heart is, 

but hearts can stop

and one can lose their sense of place.

Así es el camino

weaving and wandering

ups and downs

but always leading somewhere.

The road map of life takes time to decipher,

many topes to cross and detours to take

before one arrives at destination unknown.

¡Buen viaje a todos!