Wanderlust
All that is gold does not glitter,
Not all those who wander are lost;
The old that is strong does not wither,
Deep roots are not reached by frost.
You never know when the sensation will strike you.
Might be as your eyes first open in the morning, or as traffic starts to back up, or as you stand waiting for the coffee to finish brewing. You might be happy, sad, content, bored, or apathetic. A movie might be ending, frozen yogurt might be flowing into your cone, or the dog might be staring at you in a really peculiar manner for no reason. Suddenly, a “click” goes off in your head.
Wanderlust.
Sometimes you make the choice to go, and sometimes the choice is made for you. Sometimes the adventure is meticulously planned beforehand, and sometimes you are in the middle of a grand endeavor with no idea how you got there. Sometimes you travel, and sometimes you are taken for a ride.
It’s a dangerous business, Frodo, going out of your door. You step into the Road, and if you don’t keep your feet, there is no knowing where you might be swept off to.
An adventure needn’t be a long journey. Day trips less than an hour from home can be adventuresome. The point isn’t the distance per se; the point is the Unknown. The Other. The New. This is perhaps more likely achieved the farther afield you roam, but even that strange open-air market 20 minutes away has potential. The dusty antique store in the train depot. The burned-out barn hidden in a forest clearing. The cave where Lewis and Clark supposedly rode out a storm, even if they never came anywhere near the place.
Almost anything is possible once you get out the door.
Yes, stories and adventures are inexorably intertwined. Stories about adventures have been around at least since neolithic times, and new adventures have been inspired from stories for about as long. You’ll suddenly find yourself standing on a beach time zones away from home, staring at strange constellations in the sky. Or pacing the same parapets as ancient soldiers once did while they gaped at siege engines approaching the walls below. Or breathing air no one has ever breathed, hearing sounds and feeling earth that no one has. Or perhaps even talking a dragon into giving up his secrets. You never know what’s going to happen until the story begins.
Until you begin the story.
The Road goes ever on and on
Out from the door where it began.
Now far ahead the Road has gone,
Let others follow it who can!
Let them a journey new begin,
But I at last with weary feet
Will turn towards the lighted inn,
My evening-rest and sleep to meet.
(All quotes from Lord of the Rings.)