I listened to the ghostly vibration of the BART train as I looked through the window at the tree outside and the house below in this unfamiliar town. Living the life of a gypsy seemed to wear on me less and less as I became more familiar with being unfamiliar. Turning my mind, heart and soul back on from the lethargic life of habit and routine was everything, and I breathed it in as I remembered what it was like to wake up and be alive again.
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Most of us get urges to jump in a car and drive off into the sunset, hop on a red-eye to some far off land or pack up our things and move to wherever the wind blows. What is it that gets some of us to do it and others to back off?
“You can’t have roots and wings.” – Jake from Sweet Home Alabama
Some quotes resonate with us from the most unlikely places.
Traveling is exciting and gives the chance to meet new people from other walks of life, but how do we cultivate the relationships we make if we’re always gone?
And then there’s work. Being self-employed and working temporary jobs are two ways that can protect us from feeling controlled and tied down, but it comes with a lack of financial stability, no guarantee of continued work and a risk of not having health care when needed. It may not seem like the end of the world, but being in a foreign land with a suddenly empty bank account or coming upon an unexpected surgery that will cost in the thousands will quickly take away the luster of such a “free” life.
What about marriage and having a family? When constantly gone, it feels impossible to nurture close relationships. How can something that requires that level of intimacy ever survive?
“Maybe some women aren’t meant to be tamed. Maybe they’re meant to run free until they find someone just as wild to run with.” – Carrie Bradshaw from Sex in the City
Maybe that’s just it. We have to stop trying to obtain what the rooted life offers and accept what this one has to give and, maybe even more importantly, what it doesn’t. Our version of relationships, stability and well-being will be something different than those that follow a different path. No one gets to have the good from everything and it’s not right to deny the hardships of the other. As long as we’re on the side that’s right for us, we just have to deal with and accept it, good and bad.
C’est la vie!
We’d love to hear your side to both sides of the coin. What’s your advice about how to go for the things that are harder to achieve on both?
This photo by Paul Moore http://www.diomedes.org/ can be found at www.dreamstime.com — Photo 1885871
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
I’ve always known who I am. I write, I love the arts, I love people and I love travel. I’m passionate and need to fight for what I believe in. I never had a problem knowing who I am. My battle has been fighting the outside forces that would tell me I am wrong.
There’s only so long we can run from ourselves before surrendering and that’s where I am now. I’ve given into who I am and what I love. That is what you see here.
Bobbie White
2 thoughts on “GYPSY SOUL”
BRAVO!!! Well said, Robin! It is refreshing to read about how embracing the “road less taken” can be equally as rewarding as the other options. Everyone has their own passions, their own comforts, their own set of requirements for leading a fulfilling life- those differences should be cherished and not homogenized. The ingredients of a full life are just as unique as the individual seeking them, and I think it is important to support the people we love in not only finding their passions, but making the cognizant choice to pursue what will bring them true happiness. Maybe it’s travel to foreign places, maybe it’s marriage and kids, maybe it’s opening your own restaurant, maybe it’s a combination of all three, who knows! Either way… go for it! relentlessly. I applaud you for your courage, Robin. Rock on with your Gypsy Soul (and que Van Morrison song, please)
Touché my dear Gypsy Queen! Touché!
Love this: “The ingredients of a full life are just as unique as the individual seeking them”