The Dao of Travel

I recently began work at a chocolate store. It's fun work, with cool people, good hours, and good pay. Seeing as most people like chocolate, we're somewhat popular, and through my work I do have opportunities to meet some rather interesting types.

Today, I had one of those opportunities. A younger man, probably in his late 20s, came in with a beautiful woman about the same age. Together they joked and looked and filled a couple boxes and bought a few bits of chocolate-covered fruit. He wore a large, stiff-looking cast that kept his right arm at about a 90ish degree angle. Being the personable type I am (and needing to fill time as the computer processed his transaction), I asked him about it. His reply was quite unexpected.

"Yeah, I was in Mongolia for the past 3 months and some jackass came out of nowhere and broke my arm in 5 places. You think in most parts of Asia they're just dicking around and just don't obey the laws for whatever reason, but in Mongolia they seriously have no idea what they're doing."

I took it in, realized he was joking about Mongolian drivers, and asked him why he spent so much time in Mongolia. He explained he was there teaching English and traveling for the most part, and had quite literally (just an hour and 45 minutes ago, he explained) touched back down in America. He asked me if I traveled, and I replied honestly,

"A little bit-- though not recently. The most interesting place I've been was Saigon."

Pic related.

The fact that I called the city Saigon (as opposed to Ho Chi Minh City) sparked his interest, and we began a lengthy talk. We shared stories and laughed at each others' "Stupid American" moments. It was a truly human conversation, and I was lucky to meet him. One of his final questions he asked me was,

"So, were you living in Saigon, or just traveling?"

And my response came to me so naturally and unexpectedly that I couldn't help but smile at myself.

"Well, if you aren't traveling, you aren't living."

He and his companion departed to explore the rest of the tangled jungle of capitalism that is the Mall of America, and I went off to my lunch break. As I sat, eating my food and sitting still, I meditated on what I had said.

In Zen teachings, that which is spontaneous is said to be the most honest and truthful. That's the true purpose of the Zen koan, or riddle, such as the famous "Tree Falls in a Forest" question. There is no true answer, it's simply meant to get you to respond spontaneously. My answer to this man's question felt like a response to a koan. Before I even realized it, the words had bubbled out of my mouth. I realized that this is how I truly felt. Even if it didn't apply to everyone, it certainly applied to me.

I came to the simple conclusion that I am getting the urge to travel again. I feel like I need it! I need to go out of my comfort zone, go somewhere that I need to learn a language for. I need to get away from the part time job, and the laptop, and the sleeping for 10 hours, and the capitalism and the Arnold Palmers and the freshly-mowed lawns and the $48.12 to fill my car. I need to leave that behind, even if it's only for a month, or 3 weeks, or hell, even 1 week.

To illustrate the concept of traveling, I have procured this Googled image of Kowloon in Hong Kong.

This conclusion was amplified later in the day when my new manager (new to the store, not new simply because it's a new job for me) asked me what kind of Muppet I am. She explained that there are two kinds of Muppets that Henson created: Chaos Muppets and Order Muppets. Order Muppets feel compelled to organize, divide, compartmentalize, and control, whereas Chaos Muppets enjoy unpredictability, passion, and self-government. After processing the fact that my boss was trying to manage her new store with Muppet logic, I told her that I am by far a Chaos Muppet. I enjoy unpredictability and hate being tied down. I love having a new adventure every day and despise being enslaved to routine.

On my drive home, I had words from the Dao De Jing echoing in my head (big surprise, eh?):

"A good traveler has no fixed plans, and is not intent on arriving."

That passage effectively sums up everything I feel right now. I think Daoism got it right about it's approach to traveling. In Daoist culture, wandering is considered the best form of traveling. Wandering for the purpose of discovery, for the purpose of understanding, for the purpose of experience. That's what I think more people need to do. To travel with an empty mind, a light pack, durable shoes, and a thirst to experience, with flexibility and a smile on their faces will do wonders for the soul.

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Thanks for reading. Go forth and do good things, my friends.