Fireworks, travel and you: Evanescent?
Evanescent. Love this word. There is poetry in it.
Evanescent: denoting a field or wave which extends into a region where it cannot propagate and whose amplitude therefore decreases with distance.
As soon as you see the saturated, energetic blaze, that seemingly triumphant fiery passion is also dying.
We all want control. Never to lose it.
Is this what travel is? Is this what travel does? Like a firework, are we a wanderer losing our focus and force? At home, you have a purpose, long-lasting relationships and a passion for keeping hold of something solid. A house, job, significant other. Is it proximity to the familiar that makes us feel dynamic? Does one thrive from the pressure of responsibility to make us feel whole? What happens when this same fierce spirit travels farther away, without a tether or a target to aim for, does its strength decrease? Yes and no.
New places present logistical and physical challenges, such as orienting oneself upon stepping out of a train station in a new town. This takes mental energy to observe, record, react and plan. Take stock immediately. Where have you been plunked?
You’re here. In Trento. Now what?
A living city with commuters in crisp skirts and white shirts “rushing” somewhere important? (Note: nobody rushes in Europe. Too civilized from ages of elitist history.)
Or have you hit upon longstanding cultural sights with packaged tours and all you see are sneakers, suitcases and tourists consulting a map?
Perhaps a quaint village with kitchen-based, vanity-ridden old ladies and small children darting around—there’s little to be worried about this far away from the world. Sure, this is an instant judgement I make, but not unfair and rarely inaccurate.
Is this seat taken?
This orientating takes energy. You are not, in any way, in control of the situation.
Travel is a constant attempt at gaining control. If you are to become a success in any business setting, you must be in absolute control of some portion. You are trusted with a domain and you’d better be intimate with every detail: present, past and future. Sometimes you garner so much control that you forget how to draw the limits and that tight grip suffocates your travel whimsy. You hope to lose this concentrated effort when homing in on a new town. You’re a bit scrambled. A moment of instability and uncertainty. No longer the master of all things or creator of your path—you must adapt and go with the flow. In this respect, you’ve met the scientific definition of evanescent: a field or wave which extends into a region where it cannot propagate and whose amplitude therefore decreases with distance. Your grip loosens.
For a former creative director, mother of two, landlord and Airbnb host, traveling like this is refreshing. I’m dropped into a new situation, ready to turn on my survival skills and push away everything in my life that has tentacles of commitment and long term decision-making. Better to hit the ground running and begin the marathon. Let’s get some travel under our belt!
Jet d’Eau
Travel to
release pressure,
relinquish control
Now, let’s take an opposing view and realize that by traveling, you gain perspective, knowledge and many, many new visuals. You collect these things as experiences. You’re richer. Have more to you. More to give. In this way—and via all the social media, blogging, writing, digital sharing—your amplitude is louder than its ever been. You’ve given up control of your internal homestead and traded it for an endless influx of stimuli which your creative express converts to a magnet drawing in more than ever before. By giving up your strength, energy and people are drawn in.
Evanescent is about decreasing amplitude and focus, but in the case of a fierce creative spirit, it increases agility, mental stamina and energy propagation.
Even when you are in a dull, nowhere landscape common to so many nondescript European town—where the community won’t be caught forgetting to dot their i’s or cross their t’s—creative expression will find an outlet. Your dynamic force you think you only have at home, will have a place everywhere you go.