journaling: enabled

Last night Liz and I went to see Eat, Pray, Love.  It definitely wasn’t what I expected … or at least I got more out of it than I expected.  One of the thoughts I had afterwords was a reflection on how most of us travel.  Liz (as in Julia Roberts’ character in the movie) spent 4 months in 3 different locations.  It occurs to me that that is the only way to fully appreciate where you are … spend time there.  Most of us try to cram the experience into our heads by fitting in as much as we can … so much to see, so much to do.  Rarely are we relaxed and “there” … too much thinking about what we’ll do tomorrow or the next day and what’s next on the “agenda.”  I think that if I’m ever blessed with the opportunity to visit some place like Italy or Bali, I’m going to make a point of limiting my “agenda” to allow myself to soak in the experience of truly being there and experiencing it.  Seeing the sites is nice, but I suspect the true experience of these places is immersing yourself in life there, even if it’s only for a few days.  When in Rome, do as the Romans do.