I recently took a set off from work, 12 days. That’s a nice block of time, more than enough to pretty much go anywhere in the world for a vacation. But we didn’t go anywhere, did we? How can you? Ongoing restrictions and government ineptitude prevent us from physically embarking on new journeys of discovery. In many respects we are shackled to our home grounds, sidelined, no longer active participants in the global interaction of humanity, reduced to being voyeurs peeping out on a world from our sanitized and sterile cocoons. And let’s be honest, it fucking sucks!!!
We want freedom! We want movement! To see, to feel, to breathe in the new and mysterious is in our DNA. Now a couple of decades into the 21st Century there isn’t much left on this planet that has not been touched by the human hand so the odds of you being the next famous discoverer of new and previously hidden domains are rather astronomically low. Yeah, good luck with that! Does that mean we sit on the porch with a finger up our ass? Hell no! Isn’t travel and exploration about our own personal discovery? Each time we see a place for the first time or experience something new, it really has been re-discovered because for us it’s fresh, unfamiliar and now part of our own story.
But it isn’t just about the final destination, is it? Last time I checked, teleporting from Point A to Point B only happens in science fiction. In the real world, we have to make an effort to get to where we want to go and it takes time, sometimes a shitload of it. It pisses us off too because we have no patience and want to just get there and the journey isn’t always easy. Here’s the thing though, when looking back years later it isn’t always the end point we remember. No, we remember missing the connector flight and staying the extra night in Atlanta and looking out the window from the hotel window to watch the local Mistresses of the Night getting out of a blacked-out Escalade to spread out, trying to be inconspicuous yet available, for the right price of course. Yeah, often the journey is more fun and definitely more interesting, especially if we stay present, living for the moment.
All I want is what I can see, all I can see is in front of me!
Matthew McConaughey
As of today Alberta is back on major Covid restrictions that again limit us. Are you kidding me? And I am writing in a house with no power because the 100km/hr plus winds have knocked it out, right when the Dodgers / A’s game is in the 9th Inning. For fuck sakes eh?!?! Viva Alberta!!! YEAH, NOT!!! Bodhi meanwhile is having a major case of the Zooms and right now is losing his shit! The rubber chicken is getting mauled something fierce. It’s a frightening scene indeed. The cats want no part of this carnage and have made for safe havens. Hey it gets crazy people! Maybe this is living in the here and now eh?
So, as I mentioned, under current restrictions it is highly unlikely that we can jet off to Victoria anytime soon for High Tea at the Empress (don’t knock it till you try, it’s quite civilized and good for a heathen like me to experience). What now? Well, a journey does not have to be a physical one, does it? One could embark on a spiritual exploration – you know, the namaste shit? You could, seriously. I’m not quite there yet probably because I am way too redneck but hey, if it rocks your world then get on with your bad self. There are many ways to pursue some form of spiritual enlightenment (thank God for that) and if you can find something that works for you, a way to find a bit of inner peace in these unsettled times, then I would state that the world will be in a better place. It might be as simple as picking up a book and actually reading it from front to back (when was the last time you did that? turn off the Prime – Yellowstone isn’t real, I can assure you). I find that lately I am reading more (which is crazy because I read a shit ton) with a more diversified subject matter, allowing for intellectual broadening – when I have learned something I feel at ease.
Here’s the thing – the more I see, the more I learn and experience, the less I feel I actually, truly know. Does that make sense? And this is a good thing. Knowledge is empowering, it enriches us and acquiring more of it a lifetime pursuit. Yes, it is a journey, one with no limits other than of our own making.
Sounds fucking fabulous, doesn’t it? It is, but I am not going to bullshit you, I want out! I am ready for this Covid crap to be done. I am sick of masks, sick of social distancing, sick of being restricted. I also know that sometimes in life we must endure circumstances not to our liking and this is one of those times. I know I can rage about it or I can look for the positives that allow a more comfortable weathering of the storm. I am trying, searching, hoping for positives, we all are. They are there too, we just have to allow ourselves to actually see them.
Happy trails fellow citizens!