Ecophobia

Ecophobia (noun) Origin: English/Ancient Greek | A fear or dislike of one’s home.

— and so you leave, to find where home is for you. *wink*

This word is based from Ancient Greek in whick ‘eco’ is derived from oîkos or “house”, and then of course ‘phobia’ from phóbos or “fear”.

I do not fear or dislike my home.  I have loved every home I have ever lived in.  My fear is that I may not ever find just one home I prefer over another.

“We travel, some of us forever, to seek other places, other lives, other souls.” – Anais Nin

My dislike is related to not being content to reside in just one place.  One place forever scares me.

“The gladdest moment in human life, methinks, is a departure into unknown lands.” – Sir Richard Burton

Every time I look out my window I see possibilities.  Every time I walk down new streets, I feel reborn.  Even when I am homesick and I go back to my home town, I end up missing .. the feeling of missing my home.

“Travel isn’t always pretty. It isn’t always comfortable. Sometimes it hurts, it even breaks your heart. But that’s okay. The journey changes you; it should change you. It leaves marks on your memory, on your consciousness, on your heart, and on your body. You take something with you. Hopefully, you leave something good behind.” – Anthony Bourdain

“I am not the same, having seen the moon shine on the other side of the world.” – Mary Anne Radmacher

The world: Salwa; Debbie; Ben; Isaac; Jackson; Peopletrip; bereaved; tgeriatrix; woollymuses; Amy; Tina; restlessJo; Kritika

Sonder

Sonder (v.) – Origin: French –Definition: The realization that each random passer-by is living a life as vivid and complex as your own.

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Politics, beautiful, COVID19, healing, calm, social distancing, riots, fabulous, discrimination, genious, handsome, hate, bias, family, war, right, wrong, disruptions, harmony, crimes, laughter, tears, jokes, clothing, hair, style, marriage, divorce, food, life, death, laws, belief.  So many words.  So many connotations.

There are two statements about human beings that are true: that all human beings are alike, and that all are different. On those two facts all human wisdom is founded. – Mark Van Doren

Sometimes in our haste and hurry or our excitement to see and share, we sometimes forget that everywhere we go and everything we see is full of similar souls who are seeing and sharing and hurrying around and who are exactly like we are.  Exactly.. like…we…are!

No two people see the world exactly alike, and different temperaments will often apply the same principle, recognized by both, differently. Even one and the same person won’t always maintain the same views and judgments: earlier convictions must give way to later ones.

– Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe

More alike than different: Shannon; Sara; Richard; Karl; uncover; humanfamily; Isadora; respect

Peripatetic

Peripatetic (noun) Origin: Greek | peri·pa·tet·ic A person who spends his time wandering.

If there is a word that most describes me, it would be this word.  I AM a peripatetic.  I started my life as one and I believe that is how it will end.

I have mentioned this several times, but from the time I was a very small child. I read books on travel and adventure.  From the wild west to space exploration.  I loved the idea of being anywhere and everywhere.  I loved all things related to magic, space, the future, the past, immortality, and any form of travel, survival, and escape.

My first attempts at travel (meandering and wandering throughout the world), were simple road trips close to home.  I’m not sure why my mom and dad allowed me to drive from Spokane to Shelby at 16, by myself, through a mountainous, and over a sometimes dangerous highway.  But they did, so I did. Meh, it was the 80s.  I’m still alive.

My best friend in high school was also game for wandering here and there. I think we started in what appears to be the 1800s?

We wandered by car, dance, skiing, and apparently a bit of cannibalism.  At 17, both of our parents allowed us to drive from Spokane to Seattle and off into Canada. Again, it was the 80s and meh.. we are both still alive..

I have wandered with friends, cousins, kids, and whoever else was game.  I have wandered by train, plane, moto bike, bicycle, boat, balloon, parachute, hashing, hiking, tram, subway, slide, skeleton, camel, elephant, my daughter’s back, and car (just to name a few modes of maneuver).

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My favorite wanderings were by car, followed super closely by train.  I love seeing new things ahead of me but also love seeing what I’m leaving behind in my rearview mirror.

There is something magical about wandering across the U.S. and other countries by car that is difficult to replicate.  One of the beautiful things is when you are in a car is that everything is directly in front of you.  Sometimes it is annoying (heavy traffic) and other times, it simply takes your breath away.

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You are going slow enough to really see things.  If you see something you like, you can stop and take a photo, interact with the actors in this flick that you have just created.  You can experience your surroundings in any way you choose.  Admittedly, sometimes it can be terrifying and sometimes you feel like you have been taken hostage, or you have taken your passengers hostage!! I’m delighted to say that both of my daughters have developed a love of wandering as well.  I personally feel that the many wanderings we have made, have drawn us closer than nearly anything else we have done in our lives.  We have this expansion that has happened in our heads that can never be reduced or taken away.

The same goes for walking.  When you hike or walk, you are in the thick of it. You can be invisible and interact or you can simply pass through.  I think so many people miss the purpose of travel because they are constantly flying from here to there, simply to get there.  Dude!!! For me it’s the journey.

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“I am not the same, having seen the moon shine on the other side of the world.” – Mary Anne Radmacher

Wanderings: mousumi; fanny; srikanth; islandtraveler; dave; janny; sonofasailor; alec; ab; artsyfartsy; karen; Gary; laura; geekyhooker; Ruth

City Scapes ~ Damn Sam, Where you been?

“There’s something about arriving in new cities, wandering empty streets with no destination. I will never lose the love for the arriving, but I’m born to leave.”
― Charlotte Eriksson

Whenever I get travel weary, all I have to do is look back on the past 12 years and that crazee wanderlust lights it torch and blinds me once again.  I have been called a vagabond, a gypsy, homeless in theory, among others.  However, the words used would lead one to believe that I do not actually have a home.  Anyone who knows me, knows that no matter where I lay my hat, Spokane is my home.  I just have a natural urge to travel.  I love the food, the sights, the drink, the sounds.

As much as I love to wander and roam… to me there’s really no better place than home.  Until I am ready to go again. It’s the only real addiction I have.

“The world is full of wonderful things you haven’t seen yet. Don’t ever give up on the chance of seeing them.” ~J.K. Rowling

“Half the fun of the travel is the esthetic of lostness.” ~ Ray Bradbury

“You’re not sorry to go, of course. With people like us our home is where we are not… No one person in the world is necessary to you or to me.” ~ F. Scott Fitzgerald

“There’s a race of men that don’t fit in,
A race that can’t sit still;
So they break the hearts of kith and kin, And they roam the world at will.
They range the field and rove the flood,
And they climb the mountain’s crest; Their’s is the curse of the gypsy blood,
And they don’t know how to rest.”
~Robert Service

Wanderlust:  Angeline; amoralegria; usfman; fandango; henhouselady; blindzanygirl; footloose; mudgha; monkey

Two days on, One day off – Accra, Ghana

I was lucky to have an opportunity to participate in a very quick trip to Accra, Ghana for work with a short half day to tour a few markets.  It was interesting to compare Accra to Lagos in the area of food, style, art and living.  So much was familiar with just enough differences to make it quite interesting.  I’m hoping to be able to go back and see some of the people and places outside of the city.  I hope you enjoy.

The voyage of discovery is not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes. Marcel Proust

I don’t like landscapes. I like cities. Lots of cities. I like buildings. I like streets. Dario Argento

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