En Movimiento

This post is dedicated to my coolest cousin, Jesse, who always gives the best advice. Years ago, she told me to focus on writing what I really want to write and to do it when I feel the urge. I’m taking that advice now and leaving all other drafts unfinished while I muse on movement.

Rishikesh is peaceful. I have a few days with absolutely nothing to do before beginning a meditation course that will last most of February. As nice as it is, I can’t help but think about what will be next. Where I might want to go, what I want to see, how long I’ll stay.

This is nothing new! The most content I’ve ever been in one location, or at least the place in which I’ve stayed the longest, was New Orleans. I’ll attribute that to the endless parade of things to do there. Festivals, parades, shows, restaurants, you name it. It was also the place in which I had the strongest community ties. Even while living there, it was hard to go more than a month or two without a trip out of town, which was often a quick drive to see my grandparents in Pensacola.

As nice as those visits were, and trips elsewhere too, the best part was often the drive. My parents split up when I was very young, and as a result, I spent countless hours riding in the car on the drive to and from visits. From an early age, I was conditioned to be in cars and came to love it. As soon as I turned 16, I started making those drives alone and the whole world opened up to me. The world was much smaller then, of course, but I felt like I could get anywhere I wanted to go, and I could do it alone.

I did a lot of thinking while driving or riding as a young person, I guess you could say it was my earliest meditative practice. When I was in college, I drove between New Orleans and home (IL) several times a year. I processed a lot of emotions, listened to a lot of music, and watched the world go by for hours on end.

I left New Orleans in 2020, just as the world was shutting down, and the itch to keep moving has only grown stronger since then. Remote work allowed for a couple of major cross-country road trips, living out of my car for weeks on end, and I fully crashed out when they wanted us back in the office once a week. There were other factors at play, but the loss of that freedom of movement played a big role in my leaving a steady job and home to go to Montana. I remember how free I felt sitting outside of my favorite Greek spot in Missoula, emailing my boss my resignation and that I’d be back for my final two weeks, and nothing more.

The whole summer that I worked in Montana, I’d use my long weekends (I had a 3-4, 4-3 schedule - truly incredible) to explore more of Montana and often drive to northern Washington. Being out west enhanced the driving experience for obvious reasons. The corn and soybean fields of home had nothing on the mountains, rivers, and lakes I had that season. Still, it was the movement that fueled me the most, and the scenery was just the cherry on top.

Eventually I booked my first trip to Peru, and traded my beloved Prius for planes, trains, buses, and combis. I missed the full control of being a driver, but every flight and long bus ride brought me that same sense of peace that had become so essential in my life. On that first international flight, as we took off from my final connecting airport, I had a moment of realization that it was really happening and I couldn’t back out. At the very least, I’d have to land in the airport of another country and try to navigate changing my flight back if I changed my mind. And then there was just peace. Nothing could be done about anything; there was nothing I should be doing, no one to contact, and no way for anyone to contact me. I was completely free.

I didn’t change my mind, though, I landed and slept on the floor in the airport for a few (several) hours before catching my connection to Cusco. After falling in love with Peru, I returned again and again. I fell in love with all of the new kinds of movement, with scenery like I’d never experienced. Who knew that there were boats I could ride through the Amazon for days on end? God, I really love boats. The best sleep I’ve ever had has been on boats. Please enjoy the footage of one very special boat nap below.

See the rest on substack!