The Great Affair is to Move

For my part, I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel’s sake. The great affair is to move; to feel the needs and hitches of our life more nearly; to come down off this feather-bed of civilization, and find the globe granite underfoot and strewn with cutting flints. ― Robert Louis Stevenson

I always find myself walking around somewhere as I familiarize myself with the unfamiliar. There's something about arriving at a new place, the new smell, the strange sounds, a curious crowd looking at me with sympathy. I still love the feeling however stressful, the pleasant surprises that might come as I move towards the unknown. It is as if I'm just sleeping and waking up in a strange place again and again, looking at this new surrounding with a childlike sense of wonder. Despite the brutality of traveling, I guess this curiosity of the world is something I will never lose until my dying day.

I don't need to bring a lot of clothes or things, I always have what I need. I find the same moon, the same sky, the same stars. It feels like waking up and only some parts of the background have changed. I am still there, the same person who laughs and cries. I don't find the beautiful, I bring it. There will always be some new personality and drama around. A new recipe for me to cook. That's what I like about moving to a different place, the great sudden change I put my mind into, the excitement and expectations. A part of me feels like I never really arrived in a place. Boredom only comes when someone runs out of things to do in life. What I have learned is that there are so many things to do in every place, only if you keep your eyes open and stay curious.

My experience in each place shaped me. I must say it really shaped the way I think and behave, in a good way of course. If you are curious what you will be like when you change, then all you have to do is to take a step to move somewhere. There are so many things to be learned from people in different places. They are just waiting for you, they are there to offer you something new. Change is good but it is not for everyone. It is for those who are willing to have a fresh perspective of the world. Moving to a new place can be a shock, it's like diving into the cold water, but you feel so alive after. The first day can be the most difficult, but for me, it is the day when I look at those structures, familiarize myself with the streets, remember where the supermarkets are and say hi to the curious neighbors. Instead of focusing on the stress of living in a new place why not appreciate all the details around. It's like being born again, suddenly you adapt to a new life.

Some people move to start over or pursue jobs. Some people would like to move somewhere with more freedom. Some people would like to recover from heartbreak. Some people move so they can come back and see things with new colors. To leave a place you have always known is to die a little. You become a part of a different puzzle and when everything is solved, you either move again or stay.

A part of me wants to belong and a part of me wants to stay, I guess I'm still in between, perhaps a problem of a free-spirit. I have limited resources and certainly not privileged but I still managed to move anywhere I want. Probably because it is such a strong desire that I'd do anything to be somewhere again. I would probably live a nomadic life. I have my challenges and hardships but I guess I'd rather take that than bear the boredom of familiar. My itchy feet never failed to take me somewhere else again. It's just that I'm always curious of what's the air like, or the taste of water, or the feel of the sun on my skin, or the sound of laughter of people in another place.

It's strange that I don't really find myself traveling but just moving, never arriving. Always looking never finding. I guess it's just me striving to be someone better. Moving is more important than arriving, it keeps one balanced. It is important not to miss those things I encounter along the way. And perhaps there's someone who has the same interest too, and we can merge our freedom and share the burden. That is why the great affair is to move, I'll never know what I might find along the way.