City Walks

"It's dangerous business... going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don't keep your feet, there's no knowing where you might be swept off to."

J.R.R. Tolkien

I've taken to walking the streets of Melbourne, occasionally jumping on a tram when it's convenient. I walk with no great goal or destination in mind. Sure there are things I desire to do, but my time table is such that I am in no great hurry to do them.

There is something about the steady rhythm of walking that calms me. When facing the unknown, and the uncertainty it brings, walking is a way of finding direction, focus, and courage. It is something that allows for doing, for action, but also for listening, for being. And I must say, in a city such as Melbourne, you never know what you'll come across!

Melbourne is meant for the walker. It's lane ways are enticing, varied, and ever present. If ever you think you know which direction you're headed, enter a lane way, and you will surely lose all sense of it. It is a wonder to me that some shops are ever found, hidden as they are behind bends and turns. I was taken to a little cafe, not long ago, that might as well have been behind a dumpster, it was so buried. Do not ask me to take you there, I will not likely find it. It's okay, there is another fabulous cafe just around the corner, I promise.

Today, my walking took me to the pier in Port Arlington, located an hour's drive around the bay from the city of Melbourne. It is a small, bogan* town, that holds quite a lot of character, and a certain Australian charm that you won't find in the city. My small adventure to the port reminded me of the huge journey I had recently undertaken.

It amazes me that I must consciously remind myself that I am, indeed, on an adventure. How often are we on one and don't even realize it? Caught up in the details of creating a life. We must remember to, every now and then, perhaps when we gain the slightest bit of courage or insight, choose to go on one. It makes all the difference.

Adventures are scary, formidable and exciting things. They're like a test you've studied for, you are ready for, but when the time comes, you're woefully unprepared for. Even so, you push forward with the information you have on hand. Failure is a possibility, but never a certainty.

I'm slowly ticking off the questions.

*Bogan: Australian equivalent of Redneck.

Why? What? Because.

People always seemed to ask me the same three questions upon hearing of my move to Australia. First would invariably be an intrigued, 'Why?' This would quickly be followed by the next most logical question, 'What is it you plan on doing there?' Fairly easy questions to answer, even if their doing is hard. They were questions I had already asked and answered myself.

The third question always threw me off, at least in the beginning. 'What do your parents and family think of all this?' Looking back, that's not such a surprising question, but I'd never given much thought to it. At first, I would simply answer with a polite, 'I don't quite know actually, we've not really discussed it, but I'm sure they're fine with it.' And I knew they were. They've been with me for most every step of this journey, albeit mostly for moral support. It was never something I had to ask, so I didn't. The understanding was inherent. Words, however useful, are not always necessary.

In part, they know the wisdom of attachment, and of non-attachment, the wisdom of holding on and of letting go. Which are subsets of the wisdom of love, and I know my parents and family love me. How lucky am I! This is why they were able to so easily accept my adventure to Australia, even though the parting was hard.

It amuses me that I'm am still answering those same three questions half a world away. Humans! Through all of our differences, our customs, our traditions, our routines, we still desire for, crave for, fear and wonder for the same things. Sure they may have different names, expressions, or forms, but their meaning is the same. We desire a place in this world, but crave for more. We fear losing our place, even if it is unknown, and we wonder at those who are free from any place, making the world their own. And so, for whatever reason, habit I suppose, we ask the same questions. We ask them until we find a suitable answer, and even if we have found an answer, because of habit, we still continue to ask the question! Sure the words are different each time, but like before, the meaning is the same, and so is the answer.

So, why did I choose to go to Oz? I am searching, following a dream. What am I looking for? I'm not quite sure yet. Certainly for adventure, and knowledge that can only be found through doing. Most of the reasons are unclear to me, or have yet to be discovered. I do know that I want to be here. I have things to learn here. This is one path that I have consciously decided to journey upon, knowing that it would be full of uncertainty and doubt, and I will travel it till it's end. I can see the path set before me, though I do not know where it leads. This is what inspires me to travel it.

And lastly, What is it I plan on doing here? I can assure you of one thing, I will be living.