Wander
a little ... or a lot
I’m not sure if it is because I read The Hobbit one too many times growing up, or had no TV in my house growing up, or maybe because I grew up on a River that always seemed to be calling my name … that is, my propensity to wander.
If I’m going to be truthful, it’s a double-edged sword, the wanderlust, at least insofar as it exists in an adult expected to be an upstanding family man and all-around hard worker and citizen.
In fact, the first thing that happens on a Monday morning when I sit down in front of that computer, from which flows my livelihood, in front of that big window on the second floor overlooking my mildly overgrown back yard … you can imagine what happens next.
My mind slowly leaves the troubles and problems that need to be solved, the projects to orchestrate, and the people to prod. That green pinetree outside the window usually holds at least two squirrels filled with the zoomies and an odd assortment of chickadees and sparrows.
Oh, did I mention that fact that after dropping off the kids at school, I spent a good five minutes pontificating to my wife on the importance of starting the day on the right foot, but walking for a good hour on a winding bike trail through the oaks before REAL work can be done at all.
It seems those birds and animals are always hopping, skipping, and fluttering to get my mind and legs reset for the woods and river I know is only a few short miles away. Like I said, very detrimental to the quiet, normal life most people live in some sad corporate office.
Upsides and Downsides
I have managed to infect my children thoroughly with this wandering disease; I’m amazed they can make it through the school day. Again, good and bad, I suppose. It seems one can easily forget the very real problems and circumstances that require one’s attention by simply looking for rocks in the sand.
Such wandering here and there, up and down, always looking for a new spot, does seem to make one generally happy and to teach important lessons about true joy and the overall wonder that is always waiting for you.
Sometimes, when watching my children skitter through some new patch of woods that we’ve never explored, I find myself just as excited and full of that frontier spirit that drove our ancestors from one lonely place to another.
Always another stream to explore, a trail to follow, or animals to chase.
Real life has long been a maze of problems and circumstances, always congealing in some unknown way to trick one into thinking that if you just work a few more hours, pile a little more money into the account, get that bigger house or car … that those things are the modern cure-all to whatever ails this generation.
We all know better, don’t we?
When we are old and grey, if indeed we make it that far (some don’t), those extra hours worked and dollars stacked will be as worthless and forgotten as the person who did your job before you came along in all your glory.
With these things in mind, I do assert that wander disease I’m infected with probably has no cure, at least none I will take.
If it means I don’t get as much “work done,” or my landscaping is a little rundown, my children are a little wild and unkempt, my wiskers don’t get a clean shave much, and my pants are all torn … well, that’s a price I’m mostly willing to pay.
If you’re asking me, which you’re not, I think you should pony up to the table and pay the piper, too.
There are a number of unthought-of side effects of wandering that tend to work well in one’s life, not bad. One of those is time well spent with family and friends, during which relationships are deepened and strengthened into bonds that are otherworldly.
Friendship (true ones) is worth its weight in gold and brings happiness and camaraderie that one can rely on. A lonely life is a sad one, and there is no need for that.
Teaching.
Wandering need not be aimless or boring, quite the opposite, I assure you. It can be close or far, woods or water, roads or bike trails, big towns or little towns. All you need is some family, friends, and a willingness to put down the screens and slow down your mind.
I wander a lot, sometimes close, sometimes far.
Early this spring, my daughter and I joined the indelible Raj of Down on Mainstreet and Brick n Barrel Tea and Herbs on a wonderful hike through some beautiful forests and along the river.
We learned many things …
A new spot to go on family hikes
The make and model of many a tree
What hot brewed loose leaf tea tastes like, perched atop a bluff with a good view
Such things are a balm to the soul and the exlier of life. If you have trouble sleeping, that would be a good place to start ( a wander through the woods for a few miles).
Everything tends to be less important, and many things are put in their proper place once you simply wander a little bit. Problems become smaller, the truly important things become much clearer (usually those things (people) are hiking next to you).
Heck, wandering today, we found a little yellow gold hiding amidst the leaves. You never know what you might find when you wander.
One thing’s for sure: I’m passing on my family's wandering trait to the next generation; maybe they will love me for it, or curse me. Who knows.