I’m on another train on the way to Sapporo, Japan. It’s been one crazy trip with all sorts of surprises, mostly pleasant ones. We got to see a blacksmith make knives, then bought knives from him. We found a park that has deer that bow to us in exchange for crackers. We have eaten uni and oysters on the half shell, and ice cream with gold leaf wrapped around it. Japan is the closest thing to real life Star Wars we’ll ever have on this planet, and it’s a pretty fun place. One thing I’ve come to truly appreciate is that there is nothing to be assumed about ANYTHING here. You can’t judge any book by its cover here. An unassuming hole in the wall will lead to a huge auditorium. A flight of unassuming stairs will lead to a magical restaurant. A cable car can take you across a massive volcanic chasm suddenly, only to land on a lake that has a ship waiting for you that looks like it belongs in the Pirates of the Caribbean. The Japanese are really a tidy, organized, efficient, and DEEP people. You really don’t know what’s behind the packaging when you see it. And usually, it’s a pleasant and delightful surprise.

A few people have now detected the longevity of our trip on social media, thanks to our daily barrage of random Japanese visages. A few have inevitably asked me if we’ve moved here to Japan. It’s a happy question to receive, because what they really mean is “how are you able to stay away from home for so long? Are you on a really long honeymoon? Did you quit your job?” This kind of question further encourages me to keep up my social online activity. My answer to these friends is simple; I tell them I’m working while I’m on the road. It’s a baffling answer to some, because many are accustomed to the paradigm of the corporate life. Even my corporate friends who travel frequently for work have a completely different view about being abroad than I do; to them the wanderlust fades as quickly as the hangover from going out with coworkers the night before, and they usually can’t wait to get home to family. Makes complete sense of course.

But what I’m testing out here is the ability to make home wherever you want it to be home. I’ve heard some hackneyed adage say that “home is not a place” – well, in our case, it’s definitely true. A month into being on the road (2 months really), this is what I’m quickly coming to realize-  that the concept of “home” is truly relative. Sure, it’s nice to have a solid house/apartment and a physical address to consider one’s abode – and I will do that someday as well – but I have so far found a solace in just letting go of any attachment to these things.

And it’s been AWESOME.

I’ve been forced to pare down to the bare essentials to stay lightweight while moving about, and most of my clothes have been sent back to Los Angeles, only to be replaced with gifts for family and friends back home (and for ourselves of course too). When we’re forced to prioritize, it’s easy to see that we don’t really need much to live life. And it’s with this simplicity that we can see the world and absorb a multitude of perspectives on what it is to move through this life, with varying views on friendship, family, career, faith, and culture. Further, while my home (in the metaphysical sense) will always be in Santa Monica, it’s good to get away from the superficial nonsense that is Los Angeles from time to time. This long hiatus is already helping me untangle my mind from these (expensive) mindsets.

That said, I can’t wait to eat a real burrito. 🙂