I’ve been thinking about how I travel through life and whether I approach things with a super highway or an off-the-beaten-path mindset. Like most people, I mix up my approach based on time constraints, sometimes opting for the fastest route with very few stops. But more and more I find myself preferring the slow-paced trek that takes me on the back roads and by-ways of life. I like eating in local restaurants as opposed to chains and visiting farmers' markets or browsing in antique shops. You can’t do any of those things easily and freely when you travel on the interstate. Besides, in that mode of travel it is about the destination, the time, and the speed.
But when it comes to the arc of my days, I am more determined than ever to take a back roads approach to living, stopping where I want, chatting with friends, and being available for a spur-of-the-moment surprise. I like to eat meals on my patio in total quiet and gaze at the flowers. I like to shop in farmers’ markets and chat with the vendors about where they live and what kind of tomatoes are best that day. I refuse to wait until whenever to relax and travel.
With every passing year I realize more and more the value of the experience as opposed to a fixed focus on a goal. I hear Tony Bennett jazzing in my ear as he taunts, “Are you having any fun?” Yes, I answer, every day! Taking the off-the-beaten-path approach to life is my preferred mode of travel. If I hadn’t done that years ago, I never would have seen the Garden of Eden.
