Travel stories are perhaps the oldest human narrative. Even our earliest known text—the Epic of Gilgamesh—contains the story of a journey. And I can easily imagine our prehistoric ancestors sitting around a campfire telling hunter’s tales of all they’d seen. Why does travel fascinate us on such a deep level? And why do so many of us do it? Some of us travel as a vacation: to decompress from...
Travel is the greatest education I’ve ever had. It has taught me more about myself than any school or course or book. It has opened my mind to new worlds, new customs, new landscapes and new ways of being. But a lifestyle based on travel also comes with hidden dangers… And it’s easy to miss them when you’re blinded by the excitement of the new. I’m only starting to realize some of these...
Jet lag is the price we pay for traveling at high speeds. The technical term for it is a “circadian rhythm sleep disorder”, which just means your internal clock is messed up because you hopped time zones faster than Phileas Fogg could inflate his balloon. Jet lag seems to affect different people to different degrees. And I find it easier to adjust when flying east to west than going west to east...
The Philosopher and the Wolf is a profound and original book. But I never would have found it if it hadn’t been recommended to me. Even after I ordered it, it sat on my shelf for over a year before I finally picked it up. I can understand why the back cover copy didn’t grab my attention, because this is a rather difficult book to describe. It’s not quite an autobiography, because the author is...
There are hours of the night when we reach our lowest ebb. Dark hours when doubts creep in. We question ourselves. And everything is up for grabs — even our most deeply held beliefs. I wrote the following words in Spain last summer. I was sitting on a bench in a deserted Barcelona airport concourse at 3am, struggling to stay awake. These are the worries I confided to my notebook: I find myself...
It’s been a while since I dipped into the mailbag to answer a question from my readers. Here’s one from Jeff Shore, who posted on Facebook: “When you travel to an exotic locale, would you rather educate yourself and find things by word-of-mouth from locals; or hire a professional guide to assist, and why?” First, great question Jeff. It shows you’re thinking outside the box of pre-packaged...
I read a very good book this week called The Longest Way Home. It reminded me of myself in so many ways. And I wanted to share it with you. The author, Andrew McCarthy, is probably best known as an actor. I first saw him on cheap night at the Parkdale Cinemas in Brockville. I think it was Tuesdays or Wednesdays in the summer, when we got in for $2. I went there every week with my Grade 10...
Berlin is a city where art lives and breathes. I went there recently for a dose of art and culture. My little Mediterranean island is piled with history, many stones deep. And beauty is present too, but art is scarce. And I need art to remind me of what my work could be. I was searching for a serious injection of creative inspiration. And so I began with the area I understand least: modern art...
Every once in a while a book comes along that shakes up your perspective, and provides deep insights into your past and present. This is one of those books. Blue Truth by David Deida showed up out of nowhere, at a time when I’d been struggling with a sense of stagnancy in my craft, and with the path I’ve chosen through life. It shone a fresh light on past experiences, deep hurts and...
I spent a week in Berlin right before the Christmas holidays. We rented an apartment in Mitte, near the Rosenthaler Platz U Bahn station. A gentrified neighbourhood of ethnic restaurants, dimly lit bars and newly renovated apartments with enormous windows, modern furniture, heated floors and soundproofed walls. Close to the fashion district, and to small galleries filled with big fringe ideals. I...