Endings, beginnings

My trip to Toronto (photo above, inside Eaton Centre) was *the last* in a series of international business trips that started in October 2007. In that span of nineteen months, I traveled to 27 countries on 5 continents, and flew over 100,000 miles. I saw things I never dreamed of seeing; met people from numerous cultures; learned a great deal about my company's business; learned twice as much about myself. I fulfilled a lifelong dream of going to Australia not just once, but twice. I learned that I really can navigate myself and get along fine in places where I don't speak the language, even in places where the written language looks nothing like my own. And I learned that, as my pal KB says: "People are people." That is, we all just need to forget stereotypes and differences, because what we have in common is stronger than all the differences that exist.

I'm so glad for the travel opportunities I had. I know there will be more opportunities in the future - but maybe not the immediate future, and maybe instead of traveling on business, I'll be traveling for pleasure. I strongly believe that we are put where we're supposed to be at any given time. So maybe I'm supposed to be home for a while. That's OK. It's good to be home. Having these experiences has given me a certain "calmness" that I didn't have before. I needed that. Maybe now I can live more in the present. Maybe. Now.