Places we've never been
24/08/24 01:16
The Dalai Lama said, “Once a year, go someplace you’ve never been before.” Rebecca Schweiger expanded that idea:
“At least once a year, I go someplace I’ve never been before.
To know that the ‘stuff’ that matters, I can carry on my back and in my heart.
To expand and learn and grow.
To see through new eyes and open to fresh perspectives.
To make new friends and delight in old ones.
To leave the routine, remember the magic, and bathe in the beauty.
To remember that through compassion and our shared humanity, no matter where I travel to, we are all much more similar than we are different.”
We have lived our lives taking opportunities to go to new places. Although there were many years before we discovered the quote and became intentional about it, I’m pretty sure that we have managed to visit some new place every year.
I came by that sense of adventure naturally. My parents both loved to travel and to have new experiences. My father was known for taking side trips just to explore. Growing up with parents engaged in the aviation business offered plenty of opportunities to visit new places.
My parents, however, also taught me the joy of welcoming guests as another way to gain new experiences. They discovered ways to invite people from around the world into our home. International students were invited to holidays. They belonged to an organization that opened our home to guests from other countries. They taught me to experience new places through the eyes of others who came to share our table.
I was fortunate to meet and marry a partner who loves travel and adventure. One year into our marriage we moved to Chicago - a whole new place with a whole new set of adventures. In the first five years of our marriage we lived in eight different apartments. Although we have been fairly stable as pastors, serving in just four calls over 44 years, our work gave us ample opportunities to explore new places. Youth events, conference meetings, writers conferences, mission partnerships, and other church activities helped us to explore and open our lives to wonder and joy in new places.
We’ve gotten to go to several new places this year even though our retirement lifestyle hasn’t yet involved as much travel as we once expected. We went through Canada to Point Roberts just to explore the place. We found a campground that we had not previously visited to explore with our grandchildren. We have plans for a trip to visit our daughter and her family in South Carolina that includes a visit to several places we’ve never previously been.
One of the lessons I learned from my parents, however, is that as a person ages, travel becomes more challenging and it is likely that we will never travel to all of the destinations we can imagine. My mother was able to travel quite a bit as a widow, taking American Cycling Federation tours, a few cruises, traveling with her brass group in Europe, and such. As the end of her life approached she often talked of other places she would like to visit and there were many places where she was not able to go. It will happen to us, too. We will come to the point in our lives where going new places will require choosing destinations close to where we already are until one day we too will lie down and our spirits will travel beyond the limits of our bodies.
We have a long time friend who turned 78 this week. He has been a world traveler. As a child he immigrated with his parents from England to Australia. He became a dual citizen. He has two passports, one from each country. We met him because he traveled abroad to Chicago with his family for his graduate studies. We invited him and his family to travel with us to Montana and they traveled to other states as well before returning to Australia. His ministries involved significant opportunities to travel. As minister for multicultural ministries for the Uniting Church of Australia he traveled extensively throughout the south pacific and Asia. Long service leave trips took him to Europe and the Americas. Serving in his church’s national setting led him to visiting churches all over Australia. He has visited us in every home we have lived in since we met fifty years ago.
The day that his wife died from a sudden stroke they had been to the travel agent and purchased tickets to fly to Greece to attend the wedding of a grandson. He and his son were able to use those tickets and make the trip despite their loss. He has continued to travel. His life’s journey led him to marry again. His second wife was also widowed. Together they have traveled extensively, visiting Europe, several states in the US, and many places around the world. The passing years, however, have brought them signs that there will be limits to their travels in years to come. A recent trip to England brought the discovery that after one’s mid seventies, one can no longer rent a car. Fortunately for them, his wife is a bit younger and was able to rent and drive the car, but the years will soon bring her to an age where they will have to travel by different means.
As his birthday came this year, they have decided to focus their travels on visiting places closer to home this year. He would like to re-visit some places he had previously visited in Australia and show her some places she has never been. There will be opportunities to visit a few new attractions and discover a few new places for him as well. Their love of travel and exploring will continue to enrich their lives even if destinations are a bit closer to home in years to come.
His birthday, however, comes as a reminder that there will be a time in the future when we will not be meeting face to face. Fortunately we have video conferencing that will enable us to connect even when we cannot travel to each other’s country. It is a reminder to us to treasure each trip we are able to take and each new destination we are able to explore. We do not know the future. We do not know how many more times we will be able to travel to new places. Each new destination is a gift worth treasuring. May we continue to open our lives to the newness so that even when we are no longer able to travel to distant destinations we will be able to embrace experiences we’ve never had before.
“At least once a year, I go someplace I’ve never been before.
To know that the ‘stuff’ that matters, I can carry on my back and in my heart.
To expand and learn and grow.
To see through new eyes and open to fresh perspectives.
To make new friends and delight in old ones.
To leave the routine, remember the magic, and bathe in the beauty.
To remember that through compassion and our shared humanity, no matter where I travel to, we are all much more similar than we are different.”
We have lived our lives taking opportunities to go to new places. Although there were many years before we discovered the quote and became intentional about it, I’m pretty sure that we have managed to visit some new place every year.
I came by that sense of adventure naturally. My parents both loved to travel and to have new experiences. My father was known for taking side trips just to explore. Growing up with parents engaged in the aviation business offered plenty of opportunities to visit new places.
My parents, however, also taught me the joy of welcoming guests as another way to gain new experiences. They discovered ways to invite people from around the world into our home. International students were invited to holidays. They belonged to an organization that opened our home to guests from other countries. They taught me to experience new places through the eyes of others who came to share our table.
I was fortunate to meet and marry a partner who loves travel and adventure. One year into our marriage we moved to Chicago - a whole new place with a whole new set of adventures. In the first five years of our marriage we lived in eight different apartments. Although we have been fairly stable as pastors, serving in just four calls over 44 years, our work gave us ample opportunities to explore new places. Youth events, conference meetings, writers conferences, mission partnerships, and other church activities helped us to explore and open our lives to wonder and joy in new places.
We’ve gotten to go to several new places this year even though our retirement lifestyle hasn’t yet involved as much travel as we once expected. We went through Canada to Point Roberts just to explore the place. We found a campground that we had not previously visited to explore with our grandchildren. We have plans for a trip to visit our daughter and her family in South Carolina that includes a visit to several places we’ve never previously been.
One of the lessons I learned from my parents, however, is that as a person ages, travel becomes more challenging and it is likely that we will never travel to all of the destinations we can imagine. My mother was able to travel quite a bit as a widow, taking American Cycling Federation tours, a few cruises, traveling with her brass group in Europe, and such. As the end of her life approached she often talked of other places she would like to visit and there were many places where she was not able to go. It will happen to us, too. We will come to the point in our lives where going new places will require choosing destinations close to where we already are until one day we too will lie down and our spirits will travel beyond the limits of our bodies.
We have a long time friend who turned 78 this week. He has been a world traveler. As a child he immigrated with his parents from England to Australia. He became a dual citizen. He has two passports, one from each country. We met him because he traveled abroad to Chicago with his family for his graduate studies. We invited him and his family to travel with us to Montana and they traveled to other states as well before returning to Australia. His ministries involved significant opportunities to travel. As minister for multicultural ministries for the Uniting Church of Australia he traveled extensively throughout the south pacific and Asia. Long service leave trips took him to Europe and the Americas. Serving in his church’s national setting led him to visiting churches all over Australia. He has visited us in every home we have lived in since we met fifty years ago.
The day that his wife died from a sudden stroke they had been to the travel agent and purchased tickets to fly to Greece to attend the wedding of a grandson. He and his son were able to use those tickets and make the trip despite their loss. He has continued to travel. His life’s journey led him to marry again. His second wife was also widowed. Together they have traveled extensively, visiting Europe, several states in the US, and many places around the world. The passing years, however, have brought them signs that there will be limits to their travels in years to come. A recent trip to England brought the discovery that after one’s mid seventies, one can no longer rent a car. Fortunately for them, his wife is a bit younger and was able to rent and drive the car, but the years will soon bring her to an age where they will have to travel by different means.
As his birthday came this year, they have decided to focus their travels on visiting places closer to home this year. He would like to re-visit some places he had previously visited in Australia and show her some places she has never been. There will be opportunities to visit a few new attractions and discover a few new places for him as well. Their love of travel and exploring will continue to enrich their lives even if destinations are a bit closer to home in years to come.
His birthday, however, comes as a reminder that there will be a time in the future when we will not be meeting face to face. Fortunately we have video conferencing that will enable us to connect even when we cannot travel to each other’s country. It is a reminder to us to treasure each trip we are able to take and each new destination we are able to explore. We do not know the future. We do not know how many more times we will be able to travel to new places. Each new destination is a gift worth treasuring. May we continue to open our lives to the newness so that even when we are no longer able to travel to distant destinations we will be able to embrace experiences we’ve never had before.
