Platform 9 3/4

Some people think I'm crazy when I say I am going to walk 800 kilometers to Santiago de Compostela, and others think it's a pretty cool undertaking.  Abhinav was inspired, which was my first clue that we had something in common.  We parted ways after the CouchSurfing meetup agreeing to meet at Kings Cross the next day to go find platform 9 3/4.

It was incredible to spend the day in London with a likeminded traveler.  Stop when you feel like stopping, observe when something is interesting, sit down and watch the world pass by when you feel like being still.  So many tourists think that you have to rush around and see every single thing that a city has to offer!  Sitting in Trafalgar Square at the base of a monument was so tranquil, and the more I talked to Abs the more we turned out to have in common.  It was one of those rare "kindred spirits" encounters.  We spent the day wandering around London, pointing out Harry Potter references as we went; the day was intended to be a self-guided Harry Potter tour, but as two plan-less people we ended up being tourists at Buckingham Palace, watching waterfowl at St. James Park (okay, I was freaking excited about the waterfowl), and listening to reggae street music on a bridge over the Thames.

While we sat on the bridge, we watched as London walked past us.  The scene that struck me the most was this elderly gentleman shuffling along the bridge at a painfully slow pace.  He looked to be out for a nighttime stroll, accompanied by two boys who appeared to be his grandsons.  They had their noses buried in their cell phones.  I understand the obsession with technology, and will admit to overuse of it.  What I don't understand is how society will continue to function if the quick descent of social skills maintains the rate at which it is currently falling.  When did we stop being able to look each other in the eye and say what we mean?  When did we start hiding behind electronic devices, completely oblivious to the world going on around us?  It's not just the youth who are guilty; in fact, today's kids are not at fault for this epidemic-- it's the only world they know.  Parents today are so quick to turn the television on to diffuse a temper tantrum, or hand off their iPad to a whiny child in the car.  Kindergardeners have cell phones; teenagers text so much that they don't know how to answer the phone properly or leave someone a voice message.  Living amongst a society of smartphones and googling things instead of having a conversation about them, I too find myself guilty of burying my nose in my iPhone, and I have the x-rays of my perfectly straight neck to prove it.  This is one of the reasons I cherish traveling so much.  I hope to someday find the inspiration, clarity, and pure joy in my day-to-day life that I find right now in traveling.  While I'm traveling, I charge my iPhone every four or five days instead of every 18 hours.  I can sit in silence, close my eyes, and feel the sunshine on my face instead of checking my instagram feed or seeing who's doing what on Facebook because I have a few minutes to spare.  There are always going to be a lot of spare moments, and traveling reminds me to fill them with life.

K

London, England