Travel and Story – Part II: Anchor and Tether

Flying High

When I create, I want to be anchored in the place I call home and at the same time wander as far out as I dare, flying at the end of a tether. Jonathan Lowes returns to this concept again and again in his book, Xanadu, one of my all time favorites. He reminds us that we travel with daring in part because we are anchored at a place we call home. This, I believe, is what makes wonderful story telling possible. We venture out onto the edges of new experiences, whether geographic or the less tangible kinds. As we do so, we balance risk with an assurance that security is right at the other end of that tether.

For years I had an irresistible pull to Europe. I wanted to travel with just a backpack, hopping on and off trains at will, living footloose and fancy free, alone and answerable to no one but me.

When the stars finally aligned, I was off without hesitation. My experiences did not instantly become fodder feeding directly into story. Rather, those experiences went into the processing mill somewhere below the intellectual level of who I am. Down in the mystery level of the soul where words are not much use, lots was going on, an alchemy of some kind. The shiny stones of the streets of Croatia, slick under my shoes became imprinted more in my body than in my mind. The infinity of the Alps in Switzerland became the theme song of my soul – always expanding within. The early morning first look out of the sleeper car in Slovenia planted the seeds of the magic that turns night into day and performs a transformation in the day world while we dream.

In Xanadu, Lowes shows us how Samuel Coleridge dreamed into existence his story-poem of the "Ancient Mariner" through assimilating the travel stories of others. He dreamed the dreams of others who went out to the end of their tether and in communion with those of kindred spirit, no matter the distance of time or space, he partook of the richness he found there. His experiences became a part of who he was, down below the surface level and he was able to draw from that deep well.

We can do the same. Whether we travel in body or heart, we can glean the treasures found at the end of the tether.

Where is the end of your tether taking you?

Writing Prompt for the Week: Processing Mill