漂泊 hyouyaku

漂 - means to drift 泊 - means to stay overnight

When one travels, moving from places to places, one is enriched beyond their five senses. Often when I am in a new place, I like to know “where the locals go”. To me, touristy places can be fun yet crowded, some are worth experiencing, and others might just be commercialized. I’ve met people who have traveled the world, and I’ve certainly met people who have not left their country.

I am lucky in the sense that I have traveled a fair amount, and whenever I am at a destination, I often feel like I finally found something I’ve been looking for a long time.Sometimes it’s a piece of myself that I have left in places I grew up in, sometimes it’s a lifestyle that I have never thought existed, and other times, it can be landscapes that belong only to specific climates. Water can taste really different, and also cuisines and spices. There are unique scents that are either nice or pungent, sounds that are either soothing or loud, and textures that are shaped by humans or nature. When scents are nice, when sounds are soothing and whatever texture there is... I collect them.. and bring them with me. I like to record the sound of ocean waves and gushing waters of rivers, and they all sound so different to me. It’s kind of like hearing a welcoming symphony that belongs to that specific land.

It’s these differences that make me want to go to places. And it’s not that dealing with long flights, heavy luggages and salty drinking water is easy, but these are the moments that make me feel like I can view life with a less stubborn and a more content mindset. To me, journeys that I can conquer show me how far I can go and how much I am capable of. The feelings I have during these journeys are the best souvenirs that I bring with me. And the unexpected challenges along the way keep me on my toes.

When I am constantly in a different environment, I feel awaken and more aware of my surroundings as I rapidly adapt to them. There’s more intention in all the things that I do, and these changes I see in myself make all the endless packing and unpacking chores so worth it.

So shake things up a little and make life uncomfortable. Because you can’t really go far in life if you’re too comfortable.