There is something remarkable about travel. I don’t mean simply a change from the ordinary. Travel, especially far outside your well-carved rut, changes you and provides nourishment that can sustain for months or years to come.
And, as I’ve just seen from my recent trip to Edinburgh, Scotland, there is no amount of reading and study that can substitute for simply showing up.
Edinburgh is breathtaking. The Old Town with its Medieval heart and dominated by the Edinburgh Castle at the top of the crag. The New Town, not so new by American standards, with its stately Georgian town homes and crescents. The cobblestones and closes (not really alleys) of the Royal Mile, ending at the foot of Holyrood Palace, where Mary, Queen of Scots lived and the current royal family still stays when in town.
And that’s just a fraction of it. We were there just ten days. I’ve been back for three as of this writing and my head is still spinning with the sights, sounds, smells, and tastes of it all.
Imagination is a great tool. Reading opens up worlds unknown. But nothing substitutes for actually going, showing up, and experiencing things for your self.
The writer Douglas Adams, the brilliant writer of “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy
,” also wrote a beautiful book called “Last Chance to See
,” where he traveled the world and wrote about the animals and places that were endangered. What he did not know as he wrote his book that he himself was experiencing his last chance. He died just nine years later, far too young. Had he not gone and seen what he did, when he did, he would not have had another chance.
Go. Save up your pennies, pack your bags, and go. Pick your place and just go. Then stand back as your imagination really takes flight.
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