Sunday, May 20, 2012

Day Eight: Ten Days of Persian Influence


WHY WE TRAVEL 
 "my thoughts were washing lazily round in a sea of impressions; coming up to the surface in a series of little pictures. Nearly a thousand miles of motoring had given me plenty of pretext for idle dreaming. We had passed through Isfahan only a short while ago, and now were returned there; but I for one did not feel myself to be quite the same person: I felt that something had been added to me -- something which I could never quite communicate to anybody else; an enrichment. It was as though my eyes could see a new colour which nobody else could see."  
- Vita Sackville-West in Twelve Days in Persia
That's why we travel - to become different. To change ourselves. To escape the sameness of our lives. To imagine a life different than our ordinary one. To feel different than we do in our everyday life and maybe, to come back and live our life differently. Like a fresh start somehow. To find ourselves transformed into someone other than who we thought we were. So, even in my imaginary travel I am longing for some transformative experience. I want to be different. To have a different life. To feel different. Even just for a short while. Of course, I'd be very pleased to wake up one morning and find myself much more like person I aspire to be. That one that is much nicer, kinder, less grumpy. The one that is much more creative and far more productive. So am I being changed? Reading 'the Rug Maker of Mazae-E-Sharif', I acknowledge afresh gratitude for the peaceful place in which I live. I am aware of a longing to become a bigger person, someone who's world, and understanding of the world is broadened. When I started this Sixty days of Persian Influence, I didn't think I wanted to delve into history. I am beginning to discover that it might be virtually impossible not to do this. All context has an historical dimension. So I am learning - a lot. And I will continue to explore this learning during my Sixty Days.

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