When I was a kid, going on vacation meant one of two things – either going camping or to Oklahoma & Texas to visit family. I cherish the time I spent as a kid with my extended family and have so many amazing memories of those trips. That’s where I learned to water ski, swam in a lake for the first time, learned to fish for catfish in the rain (best time to do it – something about the raindrops makes the fish more likely to bite) and was taught to put Noxzema on my sunburns (I’m very fair – so it’s safe to say that I spent a lot of time with a white nose). I remember trips to town for ice cream cones, playing hide & seek and bumping around the lake in my great-uncle’s pontoon boat.
My world was pretty small then. We didn’t go to Disneyland or Mexico. We didn’t have passports. Flying was never an option, so we drove everywhere in our white Jeep Cherokee. I remember long days in the hot backseat of that car. The world I saw didn’t have a lot of variety. Texas was hotter than Colorado, much more humid and everyone had an accent, but otherwise, it wasn’t that different from home.
When I was 16, I signed up to go on a summer mission trip to Russia. Honestly, the idea of a mission trip scared the crap out of me, but I figured Russia would be better than India since it was, in fact, Europe. Every image I had ever seen of Russia was from the American media. I was born before the end of the Cold War and remember the significance when the Berlin Wall came down. In every image I had ever seen, Russia appeared dark, dreary and cold – Desperate looking people standing in bread lines, shivering in their huge frumpy coats and scarves. Every image conveys one message. . . . “Communism is bad and it makes people sad”.
Imagine my surprise when we touched down in Moscow and the sun was shining! I will NEVER forget staring out the window, mesmerized by how bright and beautiful it was. There were huge green trees and a bluebird sky. Not a cloud in sight. The actual thought in my very confused head was “wait, the sun shines here?!?” It didn’t take me long to realize that the bill I had been sold about Russia was wrong. Here was land full of vibrant colors, loud techno music and people laughing, smiling and enjoying the long summer days.
I remember that before I left for Russia, a friend had given me a card decorated with the Proust quote “The true journey of discovery consists not of seeking out new landscapes, but of having new eyes.” Russia brought that message home for me in a big way. What I saw there was beautiful, but it wasn’t because it was a new place, it was because it opened my eyes to seeing the world in a different way. I decided then that I would seek to see the world with “new eyes” . . . I would set aside my preconceived notions about the places I visit and really dig into discovering each place as it is, ugly or beautiful, fun or frustrating. Is that always easy? Nope. (At some point I’ll write about visiting Costa Rica during the rainy season) Do I learn a lot, even when it is hard. Yep.
Red Shoe Worldview focuses on my experience of “leaning in” to a world that has much to offer and much to teach me. I want my worldview to continue to expand. I want to continually be in awe of the world and all it has to experience. I want to continually have “new eyes.” And I want to do it all in cute shoes.
We’ll talk more soon!
B
