The line on the map is not to be found at the edge of the sea.

      – Dana Meadows

I’m off to distant shores today, which has me thinking of all the reasons we travel. We travel to see new things, to meet new people, to have new experiences, sure.

We also travel to rediscover what we already know – perspectives on our own home lands, on our own families, on our own lives.

And then, a little deeper still, we travel to re-member what we know on a more essential level. That a parent caring for a child looks the same all the world over. That the joy of an unexpected flower or fruit or creature can be found in any landscape. That a nourishing meal or a kind word have the same soothing impact regardless of ingredients or language.

That the edges and lines of our maps don’t exist.

Dear friends, wherever you find yourselves today, take a little trip. We don’t have to fly away to travel.

* This lovely quote is from the writings of Dana Meadows, sent to me by a dear friend this week (thank you Jay!). I refer to Dana’s scholarly work, like Leverage Points in a System, all the time at work – how great to be reminded that her more poetic writing is just as powerful. See? No edges, no lines.