Follow Your Dreams
I grew up devouring my grandparent’s collection of National Geographic Magazines. I dreamed of trekking through jungles and riding camels across deserts. I had plans to take passage on a tramp steamer after high school and ride a bicycle through Europe, staying at youth hostels. But college intervened, then marriage and the years of raising a family. But the dream wasn’t abandoned, merely postponed.
In 1982, I took my first international trip. At the age of forty-three, I found myself climbing down out of a small plane in the African republic of Zimbabwe. Having only recently achieved independence (formerly the British colony of Southern Rhodesia), military personnel operated the airport and the bus ride to the Victoria Falls Hotel took us past manned armored tanks. For a small town Oregon girl, this was an eye-opening introduction to the rest of the world. It was also the first time I had ever experienced what it was like to be “the minority.” My white face set me apart everywhere I went, and the stares I received were not necessarily friendly. But I walked in the thundering mist of Victoria Falls, one of the most spectacular natural wonders of the world, took a moonlight cruise down the Zambezi River, and rode in a Land Rover through Wanki National Park (now Hwange National Park) to see lions, giraffe, wildebeest, zebra, and some of the largest herds of elephant in Africa. I have to admit that along with the thrill of being in a strange and unfamiliar place came butterflies in the stomach and the doubts, “What am I doing here?” But the trip to Zimbabwe only whetted my desire for more, and in the intervening years my childhood dream of trekking through jungles and crossing deserts has been amply fulfilled.
Thinking about your death brings life into greater focus. Perhaps that accounts for the popularity of the “things to see and do before you die” books. As I look back upon my own life I realize how fortunate I have been. The world has become a more dangerous place since that first solo adventure in 1982. “Zimbabwe Violence Reaches Crisis Level,” an Amnesty International headline proclaimed in May of this year. It is best not to wait. Follow your dreams, whatever they may be... even if it means tying balloons to your lawn chair.
... PLM
In 1982, I took my first international trip. At the age of forty-three, I found myself climbing down out of a small plane in the African republic of Zimbabwe. Having only recently achieved independence (formerly the British colony of Southern Rhodesia), military personnel operated the airport and the bus ride to the Victoria Falls Hotel took us past manned armored tanks. For a small town Oregon girl, this was an eye-opening introduction to the rest of the world. It was also the first time I had ever experienced what it was like to be “the minority.” My white face set me apart everywhere I went, and the stares I received were not necessarily friendly. But I walked in the thundering mist of Victoria Falls, one of the most spectacular natural wonders of the world, took a moonlight cruise down the Zambezi River, and rode in a Land Rover through Wanki National Park (now Hwange National Park) to see lions, giraffe, wildebeest, zebra, and some of the largest herds of elephant in Africa. I have to admit that along with the thrill of being in a strange and unfamiliar place came butterflies in the stomach and the doubts, “What am I doing here?” But the trip to Zimbabwe only whetted my desire for more, and in the intervening years my childhood dream of trekking through jungles and crossing deserts has been amply fulfilled.
Thinking about your death brings life into greater focus. Perhaps that accounts for the popularity of the “things to see and do before you die” books. As I look back upon my own life I realize how fortunate I have been. The world has become a more dangerous place since that first solo adventure in 1982. “Zimbabwe Violence Reaches Crisis Level,” an Amnesty International headline proclaimed in May of this year. It is best not to wait. Follow your dreams, whatever they may be... even if it means tying balloons to your lawn chair.
... PLM
posted by Looking for Hope | 9:52 PM
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