In my recent readings, I have come across four inspirations
that, at first glance, seem unrelated. Yet, in the crucible of my mind, they
have lingered and coalesced into a single thought.
Let me start with the four inspirations.
First, from Susan Sontag in her essay Unguided Tour,
which explores the discomfort of unfamiliar spaces that are foreign to us. I
actually encountered this quote in Christopher Hitchens’ poignant work about
the remnants of the British Raj in places like India and Hong Kong:
“That’s why I went. To say goodbye. Whenever I travel, it’s always to say goodbye.” — Susan Sontag.
Second, while reading Robin Sharma’s book The Everyday
Hero Manifesto, I came across a discussion on how being faithful to one’s
ideals can be a force multiplier. He talks about the joy of following one’s
enthusiasm wherever it leads. In this context, he mentions a powerful quote
from Anaïs Nin. Though I tried to find the exact source of this quote in Nin’s
work, I was unsuccessful, but it remains evocative nonetheless:
“People living deeply have no fear of dying.” — Anaïs Nin.
Third, I discovered a quote about courage from Cormac
McCarthy’s All the Pretty Horses on X. Although I haven’t read the book
yet, this quote immediately resonated with me, and I made a note of it:
“All courage is a form of constancy. It is always himself that the coward abandons first. After this, all other betrayals come easily.” — Cormac McCarthy.
Finally, I came across the concept of Fernweh during my
podcast listening, likely from Dr. Laurie Santos’ The Happiness Lab,
though I’m not entirely certain.
Fernweh is defined as a longing for the unfamiliar, the opposite of homesickness—literally, a 'farsickness'. It’s a yearning for travel and getting lost.
I found that these four inspirations share a common thread:
the theme of confronting the unknown—whether through travel, mortality, or
other experiences—and doing so with courage.
But the deeper meaning, to me, is as follows:
People who often find themselves lost are not losers, as the world might perceive them. They may seem lost in the eyes of others, but they are not cowards who have abandoned themselves; rather, they are looking deeply within. They are likely living deeply and are unafraid of dying. They are seeking something they have not yet found. I will admit that they might be afraid of saying goodbye, which is why they feel a sense of Fernweh, longing to travel and keep the journey going.
Afterall, to live deeply is to embrace the unknown, for in leaving the familiar behind, we can discover our courage.
