Big Balanced Rock, Chiricahua National Monument

Full-time travel is not a vacation.

Vacation allows us to put off important issues for that short time to focus on the time we have, the people we have, and the experience we have. Full-time travel requires that we deal with life’s issues as we travel, having no near future to defer to. Issues of house maintenance, parenting, cleaning, relationships and even taxes must be dealt with.

At times, this can seem overwhelming, and even frustrating. It can be hard to focus on mundane but important things when we are seconds away from a trail, new friends, and wonderful experiences. This last week, I had a day frustrated with such issues. A friend posted this quote:

“Anyone who imagines that bliss is normal is going to waste a lot of time running around shouting that he’s been robbed. The fact is that most putts don’t drop, most beef is tough, most children grow up to just be people, most successful marriages require a high degree of mutual toleration, most jobs are more often dull than otherwise. Life is like an old time rail journey…delays…sidetracks, smoke, dust, cinders and jolts, interspersed only occasionally by beautiful vistas and thrilling burst of speed. The trick is to thank the Lord for letting you have the ride.”

― Jenkin Lloyd Jones, Unitarian Minister

My mental burden was lifted, just by realizing this corrective perspective. Life is good, but we must not measure such goodness in any one moment to decide our happiness. And certainly not in the middle of taxes.