Globetrotter

For many years now, I have contemplated what is probably Henry David Thoreau’s famous statement, “I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately.” In it, he describes how he did not want to just exist—but longed to live intensely.

Now I am sure that Thoreau did not mean he wanted to take advantage of everything in life but that his focus was on living thoughtfully—with the end in mind.

In my own words, I put it this way: I go out into the world to live thoughtfully. I want to live intensely, always on the lookout for new motifs or inspirations or simply to find opportunities to take a piece of something new with me into my everyday life.

This includes being constantly on the move as a part of personal transformation. It is not always agreeable. It is not always easy. Sometimes it is tiring and even painful when it comes to letting go. Letting go of familiar things, of thought patterns that have become dear to us, of tradition. Yes, perhaps even of people. That sounds more like high waves and plunging shallows when I bravely remind myself that we need both legs in the boat if we want to set off for new shores. And then Peter comes to my mind, back when he got out of the boat with both his legs in the middle of the lake, his eyes fixed firmly on Jesus.

So in the end, is it all a matter of perspective? Do I look back wistfully and forward anxiously, or am I more grateful for what has gone before and confident that things will work out well in the future? We wander out into the world, no matter how big and far it may be for each of us personally. And this wandering, this transformation, brings change—whether we want it or not. And that is good because change creates space for growth.

Growth toward our neighbor and, above all, toward God.

A God who also calls us to courageously get out of the boat, to leave the solid ground under our feet, and to throw ourselves completely into His powerful arms.

Daniela Canedo