Home > Work > Without Reservations: The Travels of an Independent Woman
21 " How to stop rushing from place to place, always looking ahead to the next thing while the moment in front of me slipped away unnoticed. "
― Alice Steinbach , Without Reservations: The Travels of an Independent Woman
22 " What is the one emotion that you would like to feel for the rest of your life? "
23 " Most of us, I suppose, have had at one time or another the impulse to leave behind our daily routines and responsibilities and seek out, temporarily, a new life. "
24 " By then I'd knocked around enough to know that, in the end, what adds up to a life is nothing more than the accumulation of small daily moments. "
25 " Things happen, I thought, and we respond. That's what it all comes down to. To believe anything else, as far as I could tell, was simply an illusion. "
26 " Going back to school is like going back in time. Immediately, for better or for worse, you must give up a little piece of your autonomy in order to become part of the group. And every group, of course, has its hierarchies and rules- spoken and unspoken. It is like learning to live once again in a family- which, of course, is the setting where all learning begins. "
27 " To awaken quite alone in a strange town is one of the pleasant sensations in the world. You are surrounded by adventure. You have no idea of what is in store for you, but you will, if you are wise and know the art of travel, let yourself go on the stream of the unknown and accept whatever comes in the spirit in which the gods may offer it. "
28 " The fun-seekers, I noted, were spontaneous and flexible. They approached each day and each situation with a willingness to ride whatever wave came along, just for the experience of it. The complainers, on the other hand, would only catch a wave if it was exactly to their liking. Anything else drew loud protestations about how it was not what they expected. "
29 " The unexpectedness of life, waiting round every corner, catches even wise women unawares," [Freya] wrote. "To avoid corners altogether is, after all, to refuse to live." ...It was if someone in charge had said to me: not guilty. Permission granted to continue on with your life as usual. "
30 " The sun came out. It filtered down through the leaves, creating a playful pattern of light and shade that danced before my eyes. The air smelled of lilies of the valley. As I walked beneath the canopy of trees, wrapped in the delicate fragrance, caution fell away. It didn't matter that I had no idea which street led to the place de Tertre or to my Métro stop. Destination no longer ruled. My only map was that of free association: I would follow each street only as long as it interested me and then, on a whim, choose a new direction. "
31 " ..., looking at the silent buildings, each one with a story to tell. "
32 " After all, the word “travel” comes from the Latin “trepalium.” Which, loosely translated, means “instrument of torture. "
33 " I guess the idea of stepping out from behind the “camouflage of routine,” as someone once described it, still intimated me. "
34 " Occasionally, when trapped by memories, I would mistake change for loss, and grieve... "
35 " I had surprised myself this year by jumping in to reshape my life before life stepped in to reshape it for me. "
36 " ..., what adds up to a life is nothing more than the accumulation of small daily moments. "
37 " But it was difficult, this living in real time only, and not diluting it by looking back or skipping forward. No wonder it’s never really caught on with most people, I thought. It’s just too hard. "
38 " In fact, most things that threaten to last forever often become quite annoying. "
39 " Paris guards her inner beauty from the casual observer. To find it one must look beyond the façades. It is true of people also, I think: their spirits exist behind their façades, beyond their words. "
40 " When I looked back at my days of being a wife and mother, one of the things that most amazed me was that every day I was the one who made the decision as to what three other people would eat. It tired me out just to think about... "