[won-der-luhst]
(n): a strong, innate desire to travel or rove about
word origin: German, literally means: wander desire
Ever since I was a little girl, I absolutely loved to go exploring new places. This was probably mostly from the influence of my older sister, who first ignited in me such a desire of adventure. Esther and I are quite similar, but also different in many ways - which is of course to be expected with sisters. She has always been more tom-boyish than me, but I think that both of us still are a balance between being girly and a tom-boy.
There lies a small island nestled near the Swartz Bay harbour in Sidney, B.C. My grandparents own a cabin on it, and they generously lend it out for their extended family members to use when they like. I've been coming there a couple of times a year for the past ten years or so, and the island certainly holds a special place in my heart.
The reason why I am bringing this island up is because I would like to recount one of my early childhood wanderlust experiences there. The Island is populated with approximately one hundred-thirty houses, almost all of them waterfront. There is only one gravel road, and there are no cars there except for the fire trucks. On the inside of the road, in the center of the island, there is a fairly large expanse of forest, with hiking trails winding throughout it.
One day when I was about eight years old and my sister was twelve, we thought up a great game for ourselves when spending a Summer weekend on the island with our parents. We decided that we would explore the forest wherever our feet would take us. However, we had one strict rule: there was to be no stepping on any paths. When coming across a path, we would have to turn away and walk another direction, or else simply jump over it. We took this rule very seriously, and it was plenty of fun and caused quite the excitement. It did include a lot of tricky steps and bush wacking, for both our legs became very scratched up by the end of it; but to our delight we discovered many interesting things in the process. For example, we found a little secret pond, where lily pads floated on the surface of the water and where frogs sang their croaking song. A fascinating old deer carcass was found beside the pond, which we examined with great interest. The most special discovery of all was a magical little area of green rolling hills that were covered in Arbutus trees and spongy moss. Which, predictably, we ended up naming The Land Of The Mossy Hills.
We played the game many more times over the years, and it was always fun, but never quite as exciting as that very first time. This was because we had already explored the entire island, and knew most of the secrets to be found there. It was time for another adventure. This is partially the point of wanderlust. It is the innate desire to travel, rove about, and seek new places and spaces. To cross and leap over the dependable paths to see what adventure is on the other side. To find out what lies in the unreliable wilderness, and see things you've never seen before. Feel emotions to a height you've never felt before. Breathe in air you've never breathed before. Don't get me wrong, it is always nice to visit places that are more familiar. I love coming to the Island now just as much as I did when I was eight years of age. But there's still something to be said about that exhilarating thrill you get of a new sight, a different place, an unknown trail.
There has been many a time when I've imagined myself somewhere else in the world. I might currently reside in a beautiful place here on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, but I still like to travel to other countries; whether I visit them in my imagination, in blogs and pictures on the internet, or actually visit them in reality. The latter is always preferred, of course! This big green, blue and brown globe of ours is just so full of glorious places to be discovered, with views that are to die for, peaks of mountains that stretch above the clouds, and incredible cathedrals with great pillars of art and architecture.
“The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page.”
-Saint Augustine
