Traveling the World

     I am a world traveler.  For a glimpse of my trip to Europe, click here. 
If you just returned from reading that vignette, then you'll understand that being anonymous in a foreign land is not entirely pleasurable for me.  While I enjoy and appreciate the perspective, landscape, culture and people of various parts of the world, I rarely think about planning trips outside the US anymore.  And this is a shame, because there are many places I would love to visit. 
     England is high on my list, given that I am somewhat of an Anglophile.  This is a contradiction to the Native American in me, but I can't help it.  I love all things English.  I have a degree in English Literature.  Studying the great works of that nation gave me great pleasure while challenging me to higher levels of thought.  I love the rock music that comes from England.  My new faith practice even comes from England, although the Quakers left their homeland to find religious freedom here.  I love the images of its countryside and the people who live there.
     Yet, here I am, plugging away at my desktop (not having a laptop or a capable phone that would allow me to travel outside these walls for coffee at Starbucks).   I'm not searching the web for destination packages that would truly be a worthy way of spending the entire tax refund plus adding some debt.  I'm being conservative, frugal, practical, and will get my travel fix by reading Bill Bryson's Neither Here Nor There.  Which may lead to a real trip to Europe given that after reading his A Walk in the Woods I actually went out, bought expensive boots and hiked parts of the Appalachian Trail.  While the famous author did not see a single bear, my husband and I enjoyed seventeen bear encounters within four days.  This reminds me that passively reading about traveling and actually going somewhere is different.
     As a passive reader, I've traveled to every continent.  In the last six years, most of the books I choose to read for pleasure are travel memoirs.  A psychologist would say that I have a subconscious desire to escape.  Perhaps that's true.  Don't all moms who work from home or stay at home have these desires?  Perhaps the novelty of lovely North Carolina is fading.  I want to be excited about living here, the way I was in the first few years of moving here from Michigan.  It is lush and green and bursting with color in spring.  This month, walking around here with be an optical buffet of color.  First, the daffodils, then the redbuds.  Next the pears, peaches and cherries.  Then, my favorite, the dogwoods.  Never in my life have I witnessed so many blooming trees.  But I've never been to Hawaii, except by way of blogger.   I would also love to visit the pacific northwest and see my friend Michelle.  
    But for now, it's time to be content with where I am.  I know that there are certain philosophies that teach us how to have bliss by sitting in one place and breathing, being mindful of the blessings we enjoy on a regular basis.
   But if I sit here too long, I'm afraid that I'll stop reaching and thinking about possibilities.  I'm afraid to be complacent.  I love to be contented and comfortable but lately, I'm craving a challenge.