Bare bones

Someone once said to me: “You’re more yourself when traveling.”

I didn’t understand it then. But now, I reckon I do.

You see, there’s a certain freedom that comes with being detached from one’s hometown. Because, in our respective neighbourhood, town or city, we become defined by our attachments. Our relationships, spatial environment, the routines we keep, including our more or less flexible role in society, are the things that crystallize how we perceive the world, and how the world perceives us in return. These ‘accessories’ to our native core are then blurred into our identity. We make judgements based on these perceived differences and similarities. This is the breeding ground for Love and Hate.

And its funny how fickle it can be… Mate, just telling people which neighbourhood I live in, alone, draws such a polarized impression of my personality. To that I say, B**** PUH-LEEZE. If you only knew me…

And here is the question. What is me? A bag of sexy cells? Yup. But we’re not talking about that. We’re talking about the innate character that we all possess, not even identical twins can duplicate. That one.

When and where does this pretty little thing get to shine? Perhaps when you wear your favourite outfit, maybe when you cook your signature meal, or possibly when you bust a move on the dance floor.

But never more so than when you’re stripped of all prior knowledge in the eyes of your spectators, prospective new friends and respective personal perspective. I hope I didn’t lose you there. The truth is in the pudding. And mate, I’ve tried it, heaps of times. And it tastes good.

Now think of that show ‘Cheers’, you know the one, “Sometimes you want to go, Where everybody knows your name…” Remember Sam Malone, Woody, Cliff and Norm? That show had it all. But. And this is a big butt. What if Cliff and Norm didn’t sit at that corner of the bar one day? Or better yet, they didn’t sit next to each other? People would assume something was off. Because that’s their seat. That’s their place, and knowing one’s relative place gives comfort to the societal whole.

However, when you leave your regular environment in pursuit of some place new…well, then, you have to find a new seat. You have to find a new everything. The lighter you pack, the less comforts of home you bring and the fewer associations you entertain, the freer you are. You are your most essential self. And when your identity is bare bones, you are more yourself than you ever were with all those ‘accessories’ that you left behind.

We are ever changing and ever evolving. And we often hold onto things long after we’ve outgrown them; perhaps its sentimental, or simply habitual. So when we enter a new territory with minimal ties to our other, more developed life, it gives us infinite opportunity to create a different and perchance more honest reality for ourselves. Even if only for a short while.

Now you’re probably thinking, “Giselle, you’ve got it bad… Miss traveling much?”

Truth is,

I do.

#firstworldproblems

Photo: Moments before I crushed ‘Nut-sac’ (that’s his Mongolian name) in arm wrestling…for the 3rd time. In a Gir tent, somewhere in the Bayangobi desert, Mongolia