Backpacks and Pillows
It's possible that you have heard me drone on about the number of air miles I've traveled. Calculating in global miles, I've surpassed twenty-nine times around the globe. Big deal, right? I know people who have double this - that's crazy!
You might not know how much I wouldn't say I like to travel. I've had enough of airports and airplanes. The excitement wore off years ago. There have been numerous memorable moments and people that I've experienced along the way. Here's a moment stuck in my memory.
Our team had traveled many miles together as we had been the key band on an international tour. On our way to the States, we got stranded due to the weather and had to sleep at the airport. We found the children's play area that had a softish flooring. Covered with jackets for warmth and backpacks as pillows, we slept, all be it sparingly.
Well into our second day of travels with little sleep, we staggered on board to what we prayed would be our last leg of the journey. A mere three hours remained. No one was up for chit-chat. Food had been limited, which created a little hangry attitude - including me.
As I walked down the aisle to my seat, one of our delightfully comedic members looked up, smiling and with tongue in proverbial check, "Where did all the glitter go?" It had worn off hours before.
I return home today from a trip, and you may ask, "If you dislike traveling so much, why do you keep going?" My answer - people! It's not the excitement of being on a plane or traveling to new locations. It's the people I get to meet and grow with. Relationships have been at the core of our travels. Being in someone's home over a meal and a great conversation is the highest compliment I can receive. To be invited into their home is an honor. I've been on platforms speaking to tens and thousands. This is an honor, but it doesn't satisfy as deeply as connecting face-to-face thought to thought and value to value.
To discover the heart of others and to connect with that heart is worth stepping into another airport and crossing the threshold of another vessel flying thirty-four thousand feet on the sky highway.
What about you? Is life more about the relationships you have and are developing versus the things you do?