This Magical World...

    Sometimes, I have to remind myself that excitement for life doesn't always develop naturally.  For some of us, the decision to anticipate the future with joy is a concious one, that must be implemented by action.  In my life, the method of intentional excitement I choose is writing.  My mind has a faulty tendency to occasionally turn the future into something of darkness rather than infinite light, full of doom rather than promise. When I find my mind in states such as these, I resort to my best tool of joy... making a list of all that excites me. 
     I have never been one to harbor any kind of intense patriotism.  While I am thankful to live in a place that promises me safety, in all honesty I feel very little spiritual connection to any geographical land mass.  I consider myself rather a citizen of the world. The opportunity to travel and immerse myself in foreign experience fills my days with wonder faster than just about anything else... hence, a collection of the world travel I long for most at this moment is particularly inspiring to me. Perhaps such an intentional collection of wonder would be beneficial to us all.
     Someday, I will travel the world.  I will be able to delve into completely new and unexpected moments that engage my sense of wonder.. the most fantastic thought. 

I will eat spicy, Thai food and drink native tea in a jungle hut. I will swim in dark ponds and play in hidden waterfalls.

I will dance under the stars in India, surrounded by inscence and flaming candles.. my body covered in henna and my tongue burning from  the pungent taste of turmeric.

I will wander around the dimly lit streets of Italy, stuffed with pasta and buzzed on strong coffee.. reveling in the beauty and intricacies of an ancient language. 

I will sit with beautiful children on the soil of Africa, learning contentment as I hand out affection... blessed with the sight of the animals I dream of in the distance, out of the corner of my eye. 

I will sit around a campfire in the Patagonian wilderness playing music with my friends, drinking coffee on a blanket in the grass... infinite stars above, the smell of dark dirt beneath, and the sound of moving water in the distance.  

Life is exciting because I have the magical opportunity to experience an infinitely exciting world.