Another trip to Lviv, more changes to my life. I know some people may think that if everything on this journey doesn't go according to plan, then it has all been a waste. That is not the case at all. I feel that at times I have a unique out look on my life that may make people call me naive or stupid. At times I have put my heart out in the open, this trip is not an exception to that, then again I tend to put my heart into everything I do. A lot of people question why I would take such risks only to end up in tears some of the times. Without this sorrow how could one know what happiness truly is? You would never have anything to base things off. Being an American I feel that we tend to only look at the big things in life and forget the little things. We hate to be alone and out of comfort zones.
My favorite day back in Lviv so far was when I took a Marshook bus (84a) to the end of the line, something I also did this winter. It took me to the edge of a forest and a small village. I started to walk on one of the paths in the woods, and as I wandered I removed my head phones from my ears. Sounds from civilization drifted away the further I walked into the freshly budded maze of trees. The chirping of birds and the soft beating of my sandals on the ground below filled my ears. I walked in a half circle, by the time I had looped around to the village I had taken off my long sleeve shirt and walked onwards in a tank top, something I would never do in America for fear of what people would say about my imperfect arms. The soft moist earth of the forest, turned dry and sandy in the exposed lane the twisted through the houses. Hens and pot belly pigs scurried in front of my path. The smell of cow manure filled my nasal passages and I breathed in deeply, not being able to recall the last time I had smelled such an organic, natural smell. The houses grew further and further apart, small gardens turned into fields that horses and cows grazed in. As I continued on my walk I bent down to take off my shoes, collected them in my hand and swung them gently as I walked through green grass, underneath bright blue sky that was determined to change my ginger hair to strawberry blond and my skin red. After two hours or so of walking I laid down in the think grass of a meadow, only to be covered quickly by ants, getting up I shook them off and any regrets I had about choosing that particular spot. Those little insects, urged me to carry on, with my walk in perhaps a place that I could not have better thought up. I turned around on the lane and walked back from where I had come. I stopped and plucked a dandelion and stood and blew the seeds into the wind, like I did when I was little. Euphoria bloomed from deep inside of me and radiated from my toes that squirmed in the sandy dirt, to my face that was raised to the sun and soaking in its warmth. A gentle breeze was the only thing to disturb me and remind me that I had to get back to the confines of the city before dusk. I sat down when the houses started to grow in numbers again and put my shoes back on my aching feet. Oh the bus ride home, thoughts of my dirt stained feet and sun burnt shoulders escaped me, as I sat with my head pressed against the side of the window and dozed in a sun drunk slumber smiling to myself about my day.
The small, simple experiences I have on my travels and the attitude I put forth are the things that make the journey what it is. Taking the time to be alone and listen, uninterrupted, to what the world is saying can make the all difference in life and should be done in copious amounts, especially when one is at there lowest, because that is when it could make the biggest difference and have the greatest affect.
