George Bernard Shaw once said, "Youth is wasted on the young." Sometimes I certainly feel mine was. As a young single adult, I didn't fully appreciate my freedom and opportunities until they were long gone. For example, during my early college years I often saw fliers for studying abroad, but the challenges of living in an unfamiliar culture outweighed the appeal for me. To put it more succinctly, I was too dang scared to go.
My mission eliminated that fear (once you've survived a year or so in in South America, the rest of the world is a lot less intimidating), but by that point I couldn't think of an excuse to go to Spain, England, Chile, or even Nauvoo, Illinois. My course of study didn't justify a semester in any of those places, and it didn't occur to me to save my pennies and travel there (sometimes I'm too practical for my own good). Now that I'm married and have a baby, we talk about visiting Europe or our Latin American missions, but goodness only knows when we'll actually get there.
Most of the time I don't mind having my roots so firmly in the ground (husband hugs and baby giggles beat a trip to Italy any day), but every now and then a bit of wanderlust makes me heave a loooong, wistful sigh. For example, I recently read in the Humanities at BYU magazine (see pages 6 & 7, and be patient - the page is a bit slow to load) about a teacher and two dozen students who hiked across England and Scotland during Spring Term. They visited historical sites, read essays and poems, discussed literature and life. . . . Yeah - that's about where the "loooong, wistful sigh" kicked in.
So, why am I writing about missed opportunities and trips I'd love to take but can't? I admit it's partly to vent a bit of regret, but the main thought in my mind is that I don't want to let my current stage of life slip past like the last one did. Don't get me wrong, my youth was pretty good, but I could have made far more of it than I did. Looking back, it seems like I spent most of my time just getting through life, rather than exploring the opportunities it offered.
I don't want to look back on my current stage and just see a long sequence of grocery runs and diaper changes, when with a little more thought and effort I could make this a time of sweet, exciting memories for my family and me. The housework and such is needful, but if that's all there is to our lives we're surviving, not living.
Of course, all this is easier said than done. The old "carpe diem" philosophy doesn't come naturally, but by golly I'm going to give it a try.
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9 comments:
Your words make me happy. I understand the wanderlust...it is one of my defining characteristics (along with pig-headedness, of course). But I also understand not wanting to let things pass you by. It is something I have often thought of, living as much in my head as I do, and you're right, all we can do is try.
I think I've also been thinking about it because our thirtieth birthdays are quickly approaching. Frankly, I'm rather excited, but it is a reminder of how quickly time passes, especially when our days fill up so fast with mundanity.
And thinking about it...we could always try out for the Amazing Race...it's not that long is it? :]
The Amazing Race would be a blast. :)
The danger of mundanity is that when you're always busy with something it's tempting to think that it's important. Of course, the cleaning does need to be done, but so many things matter so much more--my relationship with my family, the things I teach Joy, my growth as a person. I struggle to remember that and make time for those things.
I guess it is all about finding balance and I will forever be in pursuit of just that. The mere fact that you are aware of just how quickly time passes shows that you are probably appreciating what you have in the now. I guess learning to have that eternal perspective is why we are here!
I'm so glad you wrote about this; I think we tend to 'live to survive' during most of the seasons of our lives, or at least I tend to. :)
And I'm still in the stage when traveling might be viable. Or. Er. Maybe after I graduate and earn some money?
But then that's the danger, isn't it... Always putting things off until a later time. I guess the thought should be: what can I do now that will enhance my life?
Since I grew up in Germany, I really miss europe. So, what Alex and I do, is we go camping everywhere. We use tents and also a trailer, (that we just sold but will get another one later,) and wherever we camp we visit the places that are nearby. Solvang and the Hearst Castle are fun and help with the fever of missing europe. There are museums, historical sites, amusement parks, the zoos,the beaches, the canyons, the hills, mountains, and just so much sight seeing of the earth while your camping. We save money with coupons, yearly passes, AAA, and it's not that much a night to camp. It's around $18.00. While we are camping we play games, hike, swim, participate in the ranger activities, and teach survival skills. I'll write more later.
It's funny to read this, because the other day I found myself checking out the teaching abroad ways to go. I've trouble learning a foreign language and so I've wanted to travel to South America to learn a little Latin or Portuguese's. I've found some interesting stories and websites that tell about personal experiences traveling abroad and teaching. This might be something worth looking into for you if you really want to try and travel out of state for a while. I know that Carrie did it after college and went to Japan she learned a lot more about their culture and life style then she would have out of a book anytime. A lot of the links I was referred to were TEFL Certificate, but I know others just bought a travel visa and went were they wanted and found a job. Well enough babbling.
Serena, those are some cool ideas - I'd love to hear more about them.
Roxy, I loved my chance to get to know South America as a missionary - I think you'd enjoy it if you get the opportunity.
You can look up state parks in california and it will show you everywhere you can go to camp, and what is near them. We go fishing and boating too. Big bear has lots of things to do too. Just look up big bear and it will tell you all the things you can do there and how much. You can go skiing, tubing, snowboarding, water skiing, fishing, boating, sledding, they have cabins, and fun small town shops with things from everywhere. There is also Trader Joes that has food from all over the world. You can look up the nearest one to you on- line.
There is also the Winchester castle that is our next adventure. I also use the book by Susan Peterson, Fun Places to go with Kids in Southern California. She includes prices, times, food, and everything they offer at all the places. Also phone #'s just incase the prices have changed. She includes age groups, and the address and directions on how to get there. It's 22.00 and has 794 pages. I got it 6 years ago and she updates them every year. I just got her updated one. It has over 2400 places to go. I highly recommend it.
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