Wanderlust

Every now and then, I get bitten by the wanderlust bug.

I feel the urge to drop everything that I am doing and just book a ticket for somewhere far away. It could be Tibet, Nepal, Switzerland, Europe or even Papua New Guinea.

The hum-drum of daily living gets to me very often. I get bored with the monotony of daily commute, work in the office, the same people that I meet day in and day out. The lack of variety pricks my soul like a sharp thorn on a rose. Life seems beautifully smooth-sailing on the surface but the undercurrents reek of boredom.

There is nothing like the adrenalin rush that one gets from waiting to board the plane for a new destination. The uncertainties, the unknowns, the mysteries that beckon to the traveller. There is excitement that lies in the anticipation of the new and potentially dangerous.

Sitting in the plane, gazing out into the white bolster-like clouds and clear blue skies, one gets into a mental zone not too different from meditation. Your mind expands in its virtual horizons and the attachment to one-self fades into the background, replaced with a serene calmness that cannot be easily explained.

It is similar to standing on a mountain cliff-edge and staring out into the open fields thousands of feet below one's feet. It is akin to lying down on a patch of grass at night and gazing at the thousands of glinting stars that dot the dark heavens.

One gets the feeling that he is so small, so minute compared to the greatness of the universe, of the heavens, of earth. And for that brief moment, the troubles and problems that had just a while ago seemed so large and insurmountable become trivial and simplistic.

The wanderlust bug, if it has a physical form, would be a multi-coloured insect that has a hundred wings and a pointed almost-invisible needle with which it would sting its unwary victim. The poison that it would surreptitiously inject into the person is far-reaching and penetrates deep within his psyche.

Once bitten, the person feels a compulsion to take leave of everything routine and mundane, and seek new pastures, new hunting grounds, new sights and sounds.

Be it the ancient stones of Stonehenge, the cavernous dining rooms of old castles, or even the awe-inspiring Niagara Falls, the novelty of such experiences tempts one with rejuvenating freshness.

Like the mystical siren that drew many sailors to their watery deaths, such is the danger and enigmatic lure of the wanderlust bug.