The Pull of the Familiar

The marathon was a disaster. My knee started hurting at around mile 10 and by the halfway point I was strongly considering calling it a day. But I had come all this way and decided to hobble (literally) the rest of the race. It was truly the most physically painful experience of my life. And I seriously think I may have done permanent damage to my knee. So the three things that were supposed to play out have done so very differently than I thought. The marathon was a disaster, the book is still in limbo and the Peace Corps assignment is no longer viable.

So I’ve decided to take a trip, something trivial and non-existential, an enjoyable break from things before returning to whatever it is I need to do. The three trips I’ve been considering are

(1) Go to Europe and run the Athens/Florence marathons (Nov 8/29th respectively). The main thing this trip has going for it is that the air transportation is free. It also has a clearly focused goal that at the end will let me feel like I have accomplished something. Once there, it will be the most expensive of the trips, but given the fact that the airfare is free, it would probably end up being the least expensive trip. (2) Go to New Zealand for a month. I think now I would bring my camping gear and camp for the first two weeks and then figure out to do for the other two. This would certainly be the most expensive trip but it would also probably be the most interesting. And it does allow me to experience spring rather than the winter that will be occurring everywhere else. This would also have the added bonus of being a trip to an English speaking country. (3) This option involves using my friend’s place in Chiang Mai as a base to explore Southeast Asia. Although I would have to pay for the airfare—and its not cheap—it would at least have the advantage of adding to my United Miles account.

So I asked the electronic I Ching which trip should I take. And the answer came back:
He is blessed by heaven. Good fortune. Nothing that does not further.
Which I interpret to mean that it doesn’t really matter; any option is good. They are all good trips. Just pick one. And that advice seems about right. Of course, it doesn’t help me pick one.

So a friend offered up the following criterion. Choose the one that excites you the most. And when I reflected on that, it became pretty easy. I had been to the other two places before. Why not go someplace I hadn’t been. So, I booked an airline ticket to New Zealand. It also struck me that the readiness I had to take the familiar route was something that applied not only to trips but to other areas in my life. And that the pull of the familiar was something I felt very strongly before making my decision. The familiar is very seductive--and easy. And sometimes there is nothing wrong with the familiar. But if it becomes deadening, as I believe it was in my case, then it is time to somehow find the energy to step outside of it.