Back to the daily, the routine. Back to the studio apartment, the commute to and from work.

After returning home a few weeks ago, I immediately unboxed my books, journals, and favorite magazines. I didn’t bring my most prized journal with me this summer because of lack of space in my pack, and when I took it out from the darkness, I flipped through it along with journals of years past, tossed it aside, and forgot about it.

This morning, I decided to bring it with me to my daily coffeeshop working session, and opened it to the most recent page, reading the usually cheesy quote at the top:

A good traveler has no fixed plans and is not intent on arriving. – Lao Tzu

It sinks in: every time I come back from a trip abroad, it takes weeks, if not months, to settle into my idea of what it takes to get on the path in pursuit of my goals: A marathon, recital, book, Fulbright proposal, new job, relationship. When I’m on the road, though, these things evaporate, and I can focus fully on finding what I really want outside of the confines of my normal, day-to-day routine.

I challenge you, Lao Tzu:

A good life has no fixed plans and is not intent on arriving.

Less goals, more purpose. Less arriving, more enjoying.