Whether traveling near or far, six quotes to inspire curiosity, adventure, and joy.

Inspired by my recent trip to South Africa and Botswana, I googled travel quotes. After an hour, I had to stop. Please let me share some of these with you.

“The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page.”                                                              St. Augustine

St Augustine was born in northern Africa in 354AD. Imagine making a quote like this during a time when travel was not like it is today.? He would travel to Rome and Milan before returning to Africa, where he founded a religious order.

What is it about travelling that calls us? For me, it started when I was eighteen, and New York State was going bankrupt. I was attending Oswego University and my classes started having substitute professors with the outstanding ones leaving on mass. I embarked on a semester abroad. Putting myself through school with loans, scholarships, and waitress tips, I boarded a flight to Amsterdam for a comparative social study. It changed my life.

 

“It’s not what you look at that matters, it’s what you see.” Henry David Thoreau                                                 

I remember going to the Van Gogh Museum with other classmates…they saw the whole museum in two hours…I saw twelve paintings. My eyes fixated on each canvas, pinching myself to see his thick impasto (raised paint) brush and palette strokes. Van Gogh’s deep vibrant paint offered a kaleidoscope of color that popped from the frame. No poster of mine could compare. I was near tears for experiencing it. I wished I could transport my mother to experience what I had.

The seed was planted. I thirsted for more.

 

“A mind that is stretched by a new experience can never go back to its old dimensions.”–Oliver Wendell Holmes.

Travel humbles you. Everyday things we take for granted are not universal. Water. Electricity. In South Africa, an app forecasts power outages’ schedule and duration. It could be 10 minutes or several hours per day. They call it load shedding. The demand for electricity overreaches what the electric grid can produce.

Roger and I went to a charming restaurant all lit with candles, very romantic. The open kitchen, though, seemed somewhat dark. A half hour into our dinner, the lights came on and the kitchen was well lit. And then there was light.

Reading is like travel, allowing you to exit your own life for a bit, and to come back with a renewed, even inspired, perspective. Laurie A. Helgoe.

I’m still processing all that we saw and learned. On our first day, it looked stormy and cold. We donned our rain gear and ventured to the Cape of Good Hope. Originally it was named the Cape of Storms because of the turbulence of the Atlantic and the Indian Ocean meeting. King John II of Portugal changed it because of its importance as a halfway station for ships.

Hugging the coast, we pulled over to see a breathtaking double rainbow. Have you ever seen a double rainbow? That was a first for me. Returning to the car, it rained hard but when we arrived at the Cape the sun came out.

My mom, who passed away twelve years ago, was present with me in spirit. She’d represented the US on a People-to-People Exchange with the South African Government to share ideas on her passion and career regarding the Elderly. This was before cell phones. She called me after seeing the Cape of Good Hope, crying. It runs in the family. I remember as she woke me forgetting the six-hour difference. She expressed total joy at the trip and seeing these two oceans meeting, something she never thought would happen. I thanked her for asking God for the double rainbow and the the sun.

“Wherever you go becomes a part of you somehow.” – Anita Desai

It’s the start of June, a time to celebrate summer with flip-flops, picnics, corn on the cob, vine ripe tomatoes, sunsets that end at 8 or 9pm. A time to relish relaxation. And maybe a time for an adventure?

Is travel calling you? Perhaps visiting a nearby museum you’ve always wanted to go to or a park or woods unexplored. Travel changes us, it humbles us, and opens our eyes to new ideas and seeing a different point of view. While traveling or visiting friends and family this psalm quote is one, I’ve memorized.

Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. Even there, your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast. Psalm 139: 7-12.

Our Lord is with us wherever we go. So where will you go this summer?

Whether near or far, may your travels bring curiosity, adventure, and joy in discovering new things.

Be sure to share any of your favorite travel quotes or where your plans will take you.

May your comings and goings be blessed.