I recently discovered the German word “Fernweh”, defined literally as “distance-sickness”. Fernweh is a longing for far-off places. It is the constant pang in your stomach and pull of your heartstrings for a distant land, away from the comfort of home.
While I dearly, and quite frequently, miss my home back in Maryland, I have noticed that I become restless if I stay in one place for too long. I would rather spend my weekends exploring the cities and wonders around me, and sharing these experiences with you, my dear reader!
There is knowledge to be gained from every corner of the world we live in. Perspectives exist which challenge the norm, forcing us to wrestle and reconcile conflicting opinions in our mind. To thrive in this world, it is necessary to adapt and grow, and the best way to do this is to be exposed to new cultures and environments.
There is magic in discovery and travel. The boundless curiosity we had as children does not need to whither with the passage of time. Do not become complacent, for it is through complacency that we become comfortable, and through comfort that we do not evolve.
As Leon C. Megginson once said, in an interpretation of Darwin’s On the Origin of Species, “it is not the most intellectual of the species that survives; it is not the strongest that survives; but the species that survives is the one that is able best to adapt and adjust to the changing environment in which it finds itself.”
I hope that as a species we not only survive, but thrive with the life we have and the time we share on this beautiful planet.