As I sit in a pret-a-manger sipping on a frothy cup of "golden turmeric" watching the rain fleck down on unsuspecting tourists (and Brits who barely notice), I am reminded why I travel.
There are many reasons why humans travel: status, experience, bucket-lists, searching for themselves, running away from themselves...the list goes on.
For me, travel (whether near or far) is a way of taking myself out of the familiar and into the stimulating zone of "difference". And when I am surrounded by the different, my brain starts to process information differently.
Walking to the Gloucester Road tube station today I was struck with an entirely new component to incorporate into my personal spiritual philosophy. It felt like a key had dropped down and unlocked a new level in my brain. I never really got into video games, and perhaps its because of the feeling I can attain in life by going to new (or different) places and "leveling up".
I've been to London many times before: as a matter of fact I grew up here, despite calling the US my home for over a decade. But it's been many years since I "lived" here, and just coming back and interacting with the space in a new way (it's different: I'm different) has got me thinking and feeling new things.
There's a flip side to the story though: I have to leave tomorrow to Paris. The newness wore off in the first few days and in order for some serious soul work to take place I need to be in another place that is equally different and stimulating.
I will miss the familiar comforts: english sweets, bread with everything, always a pub with beer as the obvious choice. It's also really nice to catch up with friends who've known me since I was a very wild little child with a ton of hair and a cockney accent (yes I did). But right now I'm sensing I need some serious alone time. Time where I put my headphones in and melt into a city where no one knows me and everything is really foreign. I want to get lost again, and feel feelings I haven't felt in years, or perhaps ever.
I want to unlock more levels.
