the desire to travel

I have this thing for travel shows. I don’t watch tv a whole lot, but when I do, if it’s not something sports related its almost guaranteed to be a travel show. I am fascinated by different places. There was this show on about southern France the other day. Every scene seemed to have some cliché French thing, whether it be wine, art, or a street-side café. I was particularly interested by the pace of life. In many of these towns, when there aren’t any tourists, the town looks ghost-like. From a person who grew up in a big city (dallas), slow paced life is something foreign to me. I wouldn’t really want to live all the time in this hyper-slow, ultra-relaxed atmosphere, because I would probably lose all sense of purpose and passion for existence, but these kinds of places are perfect for short, rejuvenating trips.

It’s almost like we were born with a desire to explore and go different places. As a kid, this came about through imagination. I would invent new places in my head all the time, and create their likeness from my living room couches and pillows. One time I imagined that my living room was the space station, and that the cardboard box I was sitting in was the most advanced space pod in the world. That seems like such a long time ago. Now I just wish for a weekend in a different place.

I think we’ve got something imbedded in us that tells us to go beyond where we are. And I don’t think this only applies to physical location. I think this has something to do with our hearts and souls as well. There is this unexplainable desire in my soul to move past where I’m at and to go someplace new. A lot of new music deals with this desire. Switchfoot’s song “meant to live” is a perfect metaphor for the desire to go beyond the normal. Somehow when things slow down and we have time to process what’s going on in our lives, we become aware of this desire for something more.

For me this is a spiritual journey. This desire that I have a hard time describing is born out of a desire to know God in a deeper way. I am deeply disturbed when I think about how little I relate to God. He knows my ins and outs and everything about me, but I barely ever struggle to get to know Him better.

I think this desire also extends to almost every area of our lives. At least at my age, being comfortable and content only gives temporary joy. It’s the struggle and unknown that drive my heart to experience a richer life. Whether its reading National Geographic so that I can know at least a little about the world around me, or getting out and running and throwing Frisbee, that desire to live a fuller life pervades every part of me.

And I don’t think I’m alone in this. I think that in at least some ways, every human being desires a fresher, fuller, richer life. The hard part is that we can choose how we respond to this desire. We can let worldly desires rule our hearts and guide us down the path of selfishness. It happens all the time, and I’ve traveled down that road so many times. There’s just nothing there but dead ends.

I’m learning that the place I’m yearning for exists in a Source outside myself. The only way I can be satisfied is by a deeper connection with God. And that, I believe, is what drives us all, whether we know it or not.

Who likes to take blame? I can't really think of anyone that does. We like people to tell us what we're good at and what we've done well, but the minute blame starts happening we reach for our shovels to heap it on someone else. Blame turns into this goopy sludge that none of us want to be seen wearing.

But what if we started taking the blame for our mistakes? What if we owned our own failures and shortcomings instead of passing them off on anything that seems capable of bearing the load?

I don't like being blamed for things, even if I did make a big mistake. But it seems, if we'd all start owning our mistakes a little more, maybe we could get something done in this world.

Maybe I'm crazy, but why do all the problems and issues in the world have to be covered with so much sticky red tape. I think if we got down to the heart of matters, we'd start realizing that no one wants to take the blame.

So I'll start. I'm a sinner. I make a lot of mistakes, each and every day. I have a hard time putting faith in anything other than myself. I am a prideful person. So there. That's a small portion of the blame that I should take more often.

Let's quit focusing on saving so much face in life. Be real.

Idaho

A couple of years ago I drove through the state of Idaho on the way to yellowstone national park. I don't remember much about Idaho, except that it was flat, there was an incredible amount of farmland, and it seemed like time was under some sort of spell. I didn't really go into Idaho expecting to see any great natural beauty like beautiful forests, mountain peaks, or stunning canyons, and I'm sure that Idaho has some very lovely stuff. The part that I went through, though, was simply not captivating. But then I began to think about something. I'm sure Idahoans (sp?) find great pride and great beauty in their state. I'm sure many of them wouldn't want to live anywhere else, because the things I see as boring and yawn-worthy they see as home. This got me thinking about something I have a problem with: perspective.

I don't know if I'd say it's one of the biggest problems I see with people today, but the battle for perspective is certainly right up there with other nagging issues. We live in a society that is dominated by advertising. And what is the goal of advertising? To make you feel like you need something. We in America are bombarded by more advertisements than ever before. We get them through TV, newspapers, magazines, radio, and even cell phones. We are constantly told that we need something else in our life to make it truly "satistying". I think this kind of thinking has finally caught up to us and has caused us to really lose our perspective.

If I told you that over 3 billion people live on 2 dollars or less a day, would you suddenly consider yourself to be a little more financially comfortable. Or that several billion people go to sleep each night wondering where the next meal will come-if it will come at all. Would this change your perspective?

Don't we always get a sudden, strange appreciation for our lives when we hear stories of struggle and pain from other people? When we come into contact with other people's life situations, we then see our lives in a different light. It's as if we live our life with such tunnel vision that we don't have any peripheral vision to see whats happening in the world around us. I think if we did, we'd start to appreciate our lives in a little deeper context. We'd start realizing that all the things we consider normal in our lives are actually the greatest blessings of all. See, we've lost the perspective of contentment. Not the kind of contentment that is complacent and lazy, but the kind that realizes the small things in life are worth savoring.

I wonder where the struggle for perspective will take us in the future?