My joy is to travel, every chance I get, with dear friends. These good companions, who throng my house at the best of times, become my guides to faraway places – or even, sometimes, to places I didn't yet know in my own country. I always have plenty of choice which beloved friends, new or old, to travel with. For some I feel such affinity, I choose them again and again. They are always ready to revisit familiar delights or show me little details, unexpected views, missed on previous visits. And with some I explore unfamiliar, fantastical places, crossing time zones, meeting strangely different cultures, finding new worlds. There is much to learn from these expeditions, that's true, and I am happy to learn – but mostly I travel for the fun of it, the sheer fascination, the joy.
When I was a girl I used to lie on my bed, on my stomach, head propped on my hands, lost in the latest adventure. 'Why won't she play outside in the fresh air?' my mother would demand rhetorically of everyone or no-one. During that awful period trying to find a job after leaving school, when application forms asked for hobbies and interests, I could only put reading. 'You need to appear more well-rounded,' careers advisors said. Luckily I found my job in a library, where they understood that a reader is the most well-rounded of all. And still the passion persists. My beautiful friends, many of them lifelong, accompany me everywhere. I have moved home several times, but always find a house convenient for them. I must have proximity to my trusted tour guides, my intimate travel companions!
moving in
unpacking the books
I stroke each one
For Haibun Monday #14 "Too Many Mind ..." at dVerse, we are invited to share our favourite form of relaxation.
I feel exactly the same way, Rosemary. I am now forced to down-size my collection, due to space, and it is very difficult to let so many of them go. I refuse to part with the most beloved though, a few hundred "must-keeps". I also re-read the extra special ones.
ReplyDeleteOh, Rosemary, move over--my favorite travel companions, too, and you don't have to brave security checkpoints or fear terrorists, unless they are on the page (not my preferred reading companions, though). Wonderful share.
ReplyDeleteI was so much of a reader as a kid, and probably made my parents worried, but they kept mum... And then came other interests, but somewhere I got it back.
ReplyDeleteThe greatest journeys lie within, consume a newly discovered world to expand yourself, yup!
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