Patience is One of the Best Things I Know

I no longer understand impatience. 

At this moment, I am sitting on a tiny Southwest Airlines flight to New Orleans scheduled to leave at 10:10am. It is now 11:04am and we are still in gate C37 at DIA. I can feel the tension in the small cabin as people around me get irritated and start to complain about the delay. 

Last year, I made a resolution to be more patient. 

Unlike many other past resolutions I have made, this one actually held true. Throughout the past year, every time I got stuck at a long red light or had to wait in a super long line or sat on a delayed flight, I told myself not to worry about it, just enjoy the moment. I took the opportunity to enjoy that song on the car radio, the chance just to sit and think, the opportunity to people watch. 

I realized that getting fidgety or upset over something taking longer than expected wasn't going to make it go any faster. Honestly, the only effect that would come out of my impatience would be stress for myself and stress for those around me. Isn't it better to just accept that it's going to take longer, deal with the inconveniences, and remain calm and happy? 

Next time you're stuck at a light or are waiting in line, try taking a deep breath and enjoying the moment. I think you'll be surprised. 

The Small Smile of Travel

There's something about traveling. 

Yes, of course, as everyone says the destination and seeing new places is always joyously fantastic and that's why people do it and love it. Heck, that's why I love it! But that's not what I'm talking about here. 

I absolutely love traveling. Without a doubt, I just want to travel endlessly and for the rest of my life. But there's something else about travel, and it's not the beginning preparations or the things you do while away, it's the return home. I cannot say that it is my favorite part, but there's something about it that always hits me when I pass that "Welcome to Colorful Colorado" sign on a road trip or when the flight captain announces our decent into Denver International Airport. It's a small smile inside me that comes through and tells me that this is home. It's hard to find such appreciation for a place you know is home until you've left and come back. 

Maybe one day I will have the blessing to find another place as wonderful as Colorado to call home. Then, that small smile inside me will know more than one joyous secret hidden inside the conclusion of the fun adventure we all love and know as travel.