Take me to that place

There was a time in my life
when life fit into a back pack
every day there was something to journal about
passion ignited
curiosity unquenchable
invincibility, assumed.

When rent and 9-5 didn't exist
I didn't have a conscience of responsibility,
rather a drive for adventure.

Is it selfishness to explore the world
where there are people to invest in here?

It it foolish to let go of so called societal expectations to feel full of life, to take in the character of God through His creation?
I hope not.

I want to live the life on the shoestring again.
When you fill your belly with local plates of goodness, crafted from the garden, made with love.
Where the land and sky look different, where eyes can see for miles, and where you can't see past the next peak.
Where the sun is the same but everything under it is new.

Where smiles are the same but the language that leaves them is foreign.
Where hours on a bus are justified by what awaits when you get off.

Clothes get washed in the shower,
Food gets eaten when hungry,
When songs of life play in your head and you have a whole new appreciation of where you came from, and a broadened imagination of where you will go.
When a conversation on with a stranger probes you to think of your past.

Where forgiving is easy and resentments fall away.

When it's easier to understand home because you can think of it outside of the box.
Where culture varies and beauty encompasses.
Where watermelon is sold on the side of the road and bodies are dressed differently.

When a smile says enough.

Where there are mountains to climb
waves to surf
rivers to boat
trails to be hiked
rocks to climb
waters to explore

When your wallet is full of foreign currency
and your passport is permanently in your waist
When Lonely Planet, your Bible and journal are the only paper sources carried, and are all worn out to the same level.
When you have bug bites from sleeping at the beach and scraped knees from slipping on the mountain trail.
When you have no idea what the next day will hold, but your certain that you will have a banana for breakfast and a beer with dinner.

Seeing life done differently is fuel to keep moving forward.
Standing at the bottom of the mountain makes you feel small to the world; standing at the top makes you feel like you can conquer it.

Take me to that place
where I feel alive, breathing in life
gulping in the adrenaline of travel
as the world
becomes
within reach again.