I was on my way to another work assignment. It was the third time I was travelling over the last five weeks. Fate had conspired to have two conferences fall close to a planned trip, creating the unavoidable situation. I did not want to go. I did not want to leave my children again. I was missing them even before I left. Thankfully though, they handle it much better now than when they were younger (Skype is a tremendous help as well), but still none of us were excited about it.
I looked out of the airplane as the sun rose over Trinidad, bathing everything in its warmth. The lilting voices of Gaelic Psalm singing coming through my headphones seemed perfectly matched with the fantasy cloud world on the other side of my window. I took a picture. I had scores of similar photos yet each photo was unique and each time the scene took my breath away.
I had begun the metamorphosis to travel-mode or Uncle Travelling Matt as some of my friends like to call me. I love to travel. I love the precious me-time that only seems possible whizzing through the air at 30,000 feet. No email, no Whatsapp, no phone calls, no children. Ahhhh. And then there’s something about the hum of that engine (as a co-worker recently quipped) that puts me right to sleep. I can fall asleep on the fifteen-minute flight from Trinidad to Tobago 😊.
I have seen a lot of the world while travelling on business and for that I am thankful. Experiencing different geographies and cultures I believe is one of the most mind-opening things you can do. I love connecting with people from all walks of life. The more I travel, the more I value the brotherhood of mankind. I see myself in every person and at the same time I see the diversity in every country and every culture. I realize that the struggles in my country are not unique to Trinidad and Tobago and at the same time I appreciate strengths of other societies that we can learn from and vice versa. I am such a believer in the positive benefits of travel that I think a trip outside of your country should be a compulsory part of secondary school education.
With all that being said, however, after one week I’m ready to go home. All my routines tend toward neglect when I travel. Prayer, exercise, diet…they are all assaulted by the unfamiliar surroundings and time zones. The forward trajectory of my life is built upon a stable routine of habits that keep me focused and healthy… But learning and growth necessitates injections of change, discomfort and the unfamiliar… It’s quite a balancing act.
A growing, thriving life is like a song. A steady rhythm holds it all together. Everything rides on the beat. Without the stable beat the whole song falls apart. But it is the crescendos and surprising melodic twists that makes the beauty of the music. It is this tension between predictability and spontaneity; between stability and drama; that makes music and life more art than science.
Fill the earth with the joyful sounds of the music of your life!
Copyright 2017, Matik Nicholls