I had the opportunity this week to go on a mini road trip to see a live show of one of my favorite podcasts (it’s called The Adventure Zone, and if you’re not familiar with it and like collaborative storytelling, do yourself a favor and go check it out). The show wasn’t until 7pm, and the drive was only ~6ish hours, but I still decided to leave around 9am – partially because I was too excited to just sit around and wait for noon to roll around, and partially because I wanted to be able to take my time on the drive and not feel rushed. It was a perfect day for a drive; with it being a weekday, traffic would be pretty light, and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky.
When you use Google Maps to plan out a road trip, it will usually present you with three different routes to choose from before you get started. Because I had left so early and had an extra few hours worth of cushion, I selected the route that looked like it deviated from freeways at least a little bit. One of my favorite things about road trips is being able to get off of the highways and drive around more of the rural areas, especially on days like Thursday, when the weather was perfect and I wasn’t in a hurry.
The reason I like doing that is a bit hard to explain or describe, but I’ll do my best. When I’m driving down a two-lane road in a place I’ve never been, and passing by fields and homes and mom-and-pop businesses or schools I’ve never heard of, I like to try to put myself in the shoes of the people that live there and drive that stretch of road every day. Though I have never met any of these people or heard of their little town, I feel connected with their experience. When I drive by a high school, I know that there is a kid sitting in one of the classes struggling to understand what is being taught, but who is too scared to speak up and admit that they don’t understand. When I drive past a small business, I feel the owner’s joy at seeing customers come through the door – maybe they won’t be run out of town by the new Walmart after all. When I pass by any given house, I know that whoever is living there – maybe it’s an old couple or a huge family, or a young person’s first house – has their own story that they’re weaving, full of joy and pain and struggle and loss and triumphs and learning and growth. Long story short, the reason I love getting off the highway is because it helps me feel more connected with humanity.
In the world that we are living in, where we are able to connect with people all over the globe at the click of a button thanks to the Internet, 24/7 “news” channels, and social media, I feel as though we are, ironically, more divided than ever. Because it’s easier than ever before to put your thoughts and opinions out in to the world for anyone to see (and yes, don’t worry, I understand the irony of this being posted on a public Internet forum), we have become more convinced that what we believe is right, and any opinions contradictory to what we believe are automatically wrong and makes the person wielding those opinions our enemy. This is causing us to, as a society, dig our heels in and push others away from us, both physically and emotionally.
I’m far from perfect, and I fall into that trap more often than I’d like to. But getting out to new places and experiencing that feeling of connection with humanity really helps to change my perspective. When you realize that we’re all human, and we’re all just doing the best we can with what we’ve been given, and are all just searching for acceptance and happiness, it makes the world seem like a lot less scary of a place. Try to make a conscious effort every day to choose happiness, feel a connection with your fellow human being, and, as Bill & Ted once said. . . “Be Excellent To Each Other!” even (and especially) to those that hold beliefs contradictory to your own.
Thank you again for joining me on this next leg of my journey, it’s awesome knowing that anyone is reading this. Sorry for the late post this week, I should be back on my every Thursday schedule this week. If you have any comments or suggestions, feel free to leave them below. I’ll see you all on Thursday!
Musings Of A Struggling Creator 