Some of us are made to wander the earth; to reach beyond our picket fences with hello’s in every conceivable language. Some of us are in love with being alive, and having the opportunity to explore wo/man kind is a unique benefit to being human. I have always loved books, and I recently had a memory of flipping through the Encyclopedia Brittanica’s that my mom purchased from the door-to-door salesman (you know, the door-to-door salesman. The one that sold those giant books!). For my little self, in my small town, those books were a portal to another world. My memory the other day? How I would sit and stroke the page that had pictures of the flags of other nations.
Amelia Earhart. Jacques Cousteau. Mount Everest climbers (and sherpas! https://www.thoughtco.com/greatest-mount-everest-climbers-755318); the first women to attempt to summit Annapurna (https://www.amazon.com/Annapurna-Womans-Place-Arlene-Blum/dp/1619026031); first-time parents are explorers!; and the modern man whom I think has such an amazing job — Josh Gates from The Travel Channel’s “Expedition Unknown.” He is so interesting to me because he’s practically fearless. Jumping out of airplanes, scuba diving in deep, dark waters, scaling walls into black-as-night caverns and caves. What an amazing opportunity for him to explore so many different places! Every time we watch that show, I make an exclamation and my kids say “we know mom, you think he has the coolest job” (cue the eye rolls), but now they’re getting into it. And we discuss history, and cultures, and exploration, and openmindedness. I hope to instill in them a love for exploring – whether it’s on a grand physical scale or just within themselves. Our hearts and the world are still open to explore.
