Welcome to Gypsy Wednesday! Every Wednesday, I strive to highlight all the juicy morsels related to travel and beyond.
Pillow Book – is a book of observations and musings recorded by Sei Shonagon during her time as court lady to Empress Teisi during the 990s and early 1000s in Heian Japan. In it she included lists of all kinds, personal thoughts, interesting events in court, poetry and some opinions on her contemporaries. In general, a pillow book is a collection of notebooks documenting a period in someone or something’s life.
- Icy water rivuleting down my back at an outdoor shower after a swim in the ocean.
Image: The Naked Truth
- Walking down a dusty road towards a new hostel.
Image: Instjil
- Watching landscapes change on a 22 hour bus ride.
Image: kakadu
- Sighing when that first morsel of food melts in my mouth.
Image: Papaya Tree Limited
- Striking up conversation with an unfamiliar person.
Image: mzacha
- Sorting and folding all 50 things I own and loading my pack to prepare for the next day’s journey.
Image: alper
- The texture of foreign currency between my fingers.
Image: siansprinkles
- Steeped in magnificent silence while standing in a structure larger than myself.
Image: joeathialy
- Chilled water rolling down my throat, quenching a lengthy day of travel.
Image: isriya
- Studying departures boards when waiting for a flight to see where everyone else is going.
Image: jbyoder
Traveling is about the small joys. There is a pure simplicity to it. It’s present when I wake in the morning at a hostel or stir from a nap on a bus to gaze out the window. I’m just ecstatic to be alive – to exist in my body. The bus numbers, the hostels, the strangers you encounter – it’s all a revolving door. The one constant is me. I am grounded the minute I open my eyes to take in my surroundings.
Dig out that travel journal and leave your small joys in the comments.
Japanese painting by I Am Drexel under Creative Commons.
Source: Wikepedia
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{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }
@GRRRLTraveler – Exactly. There’s something about that ritual of packing that turns the journey into reality. :)
Wonderrrrful post. I have to agree- one of my quirky faves & not so faves is loading my backpack for the next day. Like a meditation which prepares you for the next day!
Some beautiful images being conjured in the comments, here. Thanks all, and keep em’ coming. It’s these minute details that add to our experiences, in my humble opinion. :)
My latest daily joy has been walking barefoot from the beach back to my room, exhausted and water-logged after a couple of hours of surfing.
I really love the whimsy of this post -everything you say is so spot on – it can be just the smallest little joys. On the road, whenever I had this moment I would take a picture or mark it in my mind as “happiness is…” (insert the delicious sandwich on a beautiful beach that I just ate :-)
Wow, what a fantastic post!!! This was really inspiring. I thought I was the only person that loved staring at the departure boards, haha.
I love this! Amazing photographs. So beautiful and serene! I often count my own outdoor shower after the beach one of my favorite simple things here. Some more? Seeing monkeys while walking to yoga, drinking wine on my neighbor’s stoop, and running at low tide. One of my favorites though is when I’m stuck walking in the blazing heat, and a familiar face (or stranger!) drives by and offers me a ride!
Yep the small joy of travel are the things we thirst for on those long 24 hour dusty bus rides.
Nice set of images to remind us all of them :)