Not All Those Who Wander Are Lost

Wise words from some guy everyone likes to quote on the internet, often set to a beach or forest background, are the words that have come to shape my life. I have nearly always been a drifter in some manor, whether it be through friends, career ideas, or even my long-winded scheme to move everyone I knew across the country because other places sounded a million times better than my home town.

Actually, the phrase is from a poem for Lord of the Rings by J.R.Tolkien. In case you were wondering. Not Abraham Lincoln or Drake or some other popular internet meme guy who has little to do with the words strewn across his face.

Photo Source 

These words seem to appeal to many whose lives have been pretty lackluster, mostly as a future they picture themselves becoming a part of. Some never seem to get out of a rut they put themselves into, but some never seem to consider anything else but this current life as all they'll become.

Stop it.

You can't wait for this kind of life. You have to breathe it. You sometimes must be awakened at 3am by the urge to drive out of state and the passion to do so. The drive to your destination must be nearly as important to you as the place you're going. The little rest stops along the way are going to fill up your memories the same way the beaches of Tampa Bay, FL, will, so don't treat them as necessary evils. Treat each moment as something you'll want to remember when you can't drive away so easily.

If you want to be a traveler, you've just got to do it. Pack up some clothes, throw them in the back of your car, and don't worry about whether or not they'll look okay when you get there. Don't let anything hold you back. If you let it hold you back, it probably will.

Traveling is a passion. It's like painting. Sometimes you start out with the intention to paint fruit, but end up with something only you can interpret as an apple. You might set out on a hike, but end up finding a really awesome meadow to take a picture of. You set out for the hills, but instead you find a valley. You still went somewhere, but just because you didn't plan to go there, it didn't mean you didn't like it any less.

Don't just want to travel. Be a traveler. And be happy.