Slow down, once every while, when you travel
The Poet’s Passage in Old San Juan, Puerto Rico is a quaint, classy cafe in the heart of the old city area of San Juan, where artisan coffee and homemade plum cakes are sold, and where this blog post. It was more of the cafe’s charm and less my feelings and desire, which inspired me to start writing there, honestly.
I had taken a long walk before I stopped and sat down for some coffee. My legs were tired but my mind was peaceful. In that moment of calm I realized that our eyes see a lot when we travel but we rarely and hardly absorb any of it wholly, which is possible only if we slow down. All the visual delight we come across in our travels needs to transpire someplace inside and our soul needs to internalize it because only then will our travel be truly rewarding.
Just like an orator’s pause makes poetry beautiful, that one quiet, composed moment makes our travels joyful. If you don’t pause and absorb all that is around you and all that you’ve seen, you are overlooking what holds most meaning.
Too many times cellphones, selfie sticks, and even books can come in the way of truly travelling. We forget to be present, eat slowly and cherish every sip of our tea. So, be present, eat slowly and cherish every sip of your tea; allow this time to heal your senses. And know that we are almost always healing, if nothing else, from daily human experience. Pain, suffering, sadness all need time and space to breathe. Travelling, and slowing down while travelling, gives the pain that time and space.
Think of a beautiful painting, and realize that part of its beauty is that the painter patiently waited for the colours to dry. Or a well written story for that matter, which can never be written or completed in a hurry. George RR Martin has continuously been delaying his last book because a good, significant plot needs time to develop. The author can’t get you that gripping storyline by rushing through it. Then why must we rush through our lives. Aren’t we all writing our own storyline, in some way?
Look out to the ocean waves to the point you can’t see any further beyond. Let the soft sounds of the quiet town be the only ones that enter your ear. Eat what the city has to offer locally. Slow down and enjoy where you are, how you are.
Be there, right in the middle of your vacation, with your body, mind, heart and soul, and life will come to you.
If you replace the word ‘Travel’ with ‘Journeying through life’, every bit of what you have written will still remain relevant!