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(UFMG 2003) Traveling
To some extent, traveling entails fantasizing.
We dream of finding someone interesting away
from vigilant neighbors, from family control, from
our own self-criticism. There is nothing necessarily
5 wrong with that fantasy nor with its realization.
Now traveling is more rewarding, much more
complex than that.
It means coming out of hiding, getting out of
the rut, looking around ourselves, seeing the world,
10 opening our minds to new dimensions of human existence. At a certain moment
in our life, that may include an opening to new relationships, seen as rewarding
experiences. On the other hand, traveling may develop our ability to stay
alone, to face up to our fears, to meet the unknown head on, without turning
to others for safety. It means being able to survive without old habits. While
15 traveling for pleasure, a workaholic may feel the same withdrawal symptoms
that plague those who cease to take addictive drugs. Traveling tests and helps
develop our independence. It makes us feel that the ground under our feet is
within ourselves, not outside.
Getting in touch with another culture also elicits fantasies involving
20 the stranger. Foreigners evoke many different emotions. One of them is
the magic that surrounds someone from a distant, mysterious world. Only
everyday-life can disentangle reality from magic. Yet, magic and enchantment
do have a place in life.
In a sense, traveling distinguishes us from reptiles. Alligators, for instance,
25 are intent exclusively on survival; they never leave their territory, they never
relinquish safety and protection. Merely surviving is not enough for us humans.
We want to live, and that sometimes entails going out to distant places in
search of adventure. Traveling, like any other human experience, may provide
an opportunity to prepare even for death. If we succeed in coming out of
30 hiding and living in different environments, perhaps we will be less disturbed
when our body no longer is part of our luggage and only our essence departs
for the great adventure. Traveling is being confident about the fact that our
life can be lived wherever we are.
Adapted from Traveling, sex, and fantasies by Maria de Melo Azevedo,
Ícaro, n.189, May 2000. p.20.
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