I am still walking.
I am still running.
Still, I am still even at my worst.
Still, I am still even at my best.
Wandering still, I find poise in my mind’s peregrination.
The unmoved stands behind thoughts that flicker and flee.
That which is lasting longs to be noticed.
A hint of your attention silently smiling.
Within, without, all is an oscillation and still.
Move or be moved, o’ mover of the world.
Push and pull.
Doing both as we be.
Unite unto dust!
The chosen becomes us, a unit, a togetherness of contradiction, the incontestable, unnoticeable, the will to not, the damper, a beautiful furry, houses flying with tornado wings across the plains, people hiding safely under bridges holding on for dear life; none too sound, yet all so smoothly secure.
As an explorer, I cannot speak highly enough of the enjoyment that stillness brings me during my travels.
Moving abroad, settling down, and immersing yourself into a different culture is a surefire way to break the notion of who you think you are, what you think is safe, and step outside your preconditioned box.
Backpacking for a month through Europe and living (for a year or two) in Georgia (the country, not the North American state) are extremely different experiences. With all the buzz online about traveling, I rarely see any “world travelers” ever taking the time to speak about the difference between backpacking overseas and choosing to live overseas (for a year or two) as a lifestyle.
Merging with a culture other than your own, immersing yourself into their world, their day to day grind, brings traveling to another level of understanding and experience. When you start relying on the same means of function as the country you are a part of and actually join forces with the land you are visiting, the people living there, and finally settle into the cultural chaos they call life, you become a part of that culture instead of remaining separately as a lone witness. Embracing the diversity of another culture and its people leads to an experience that cannot be understood by the backpacker -who is too busy trying to cram as many border crossing into their passport as fiscally possible in a year’s time.
I urge you to move overseas and join hands with people of foreign traditions, of tabooed cultures, and who speak languages you cannot speak or understand.
Throw yourself into the muddy puddle of cultural misinterpretation and constant confusion.
Eat cold food. Drink hot beer. Go dancing in Arabia. Visit the World Cup.
There is simply not enough time for all the amazing opportunities the world is offering.
Deciding to live in a land different than your own will open your eyes to new problems and solutions that actually exist in the world that you never knew were there. Certainly, you will see some issues in a new light, transfixed lands, shiny people, and you will more than likely return home with a refreshed outlook (and appreciation) for your own country, an opinion you may not of had prior to leaving.
Since moving overseas, I have learned to love my own country more, embrace cultures different than my own, learn from people less educated than myself, live with people less rational than I am accustomed to, eat foods I would never even think about touching back home, and share with those who haven’t a thing.
I have learned so much by being a still traveler and stopping in the go.
All too often in our home countries, the days fly by, people pass us by, and we never notice the amazing benefits of life slapping us in the face. Living in a foreign country opens the gate to this knowledge and new perspective. Choosing to live in lands less wealthy than our own allows us to see past all the difficulties and problems in our own societies and begin noticing all the luxuries of a country we take for granted for each day.
When abroad becomes near, the value of choice, our opinions, how we communicate, and the rarity of variety become so much more apparent.
As we learn to be still amongst the flux, awareness too becomes recognizable.
And it is only out of finding a deep respect for this, awareness, that one gains the means to become a still traveler.
Touching suchness, all lands are conquered and life’s radiance shines like never before.
The opportunity, the luster of choice, and undiscovered potential have always been there standing in front of us, staring us down, and wondering why we haven’t started.
What are you waiting for?
Now is the time to dance.
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Image Source: Thank you, Josh James!
