Traveling is something that indeed can open your horizons and make you think from a different perspective. Each country brings you a different set of feelings and makes you step out of your comfort zone (in case you are not staying in 5 star hotel the whole time you are visiting the country, of course. It is nice and all, but not the real thing though). I am one of those people who believe that you have to be <i>with the people</i> and <i>explore the streets </i> to truly if not understand, than at least experience <i>what is the deal with this country.</i>  Some days I feel it is similar with reading books. It is nice to just read and relax, but sometimes you just want to explore something more about the author. You simply just want to see where the author is coming from and check out some of the other works the author has written. Why did he/she wrote it, what might have inspired the work... <br>

My friend brought me a book called "Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman" written by Haruki Murakami from his trip to India. I don't know why he chose this book exactly, but he said that he has heard this is a good writer and that the book cover spoke to him. <i>Do not judge a book by its' cover</i>, they say. But when you are traveling, you sort of just trust your gut feeling. I have never read any of Harukis' works, so I just wanted to see if there is any connection between him and India. <br>
No. <br>
He is a Japanese writer.<br>
I was kind of hoping there would be a connection, but then I realised this is just something that traveling does for you. It leaves you wanting more for your life. It makes you wanna see more and more places. Experience more and more adventurous moments. <br> 
Books are supposed to engage you in another persons life and imagine that you are a part of this world inside the book. It is like traveling without leaving your own couch. <br>
Haruki once wrote: <i>"That’s what the world is, after all: an endless battle of contrasting memories.”</i> If my friend felt some kind of an urge to buy this book in India, than to me this quote made me go trough all the pictures I took in Iceland trip. And again and again those pictures brought me back to the special feeling that only Iceland can give you. Such a beautiful wasteland. Such a beautiful place to return to. <br>
Each book, each picture, each travel experience gives you something special and leaves you wanting for more. That is the beauty of this life, I guess. If you stop wanting for more and settle for what you have just because it is hard to be out of your comfort zone, life gets.. well.. pretty sad. Look at the children. How happy they are to explore every little thing and how excited they are when they learn something new. That is how it should be. And I wish that we all could remember how exciting it was when a family member let us go to the shop on our own for the first time. <br>

Think about this for a minute and have a great day!



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