Two blog entries ago I mentioned that it was in the Bahamas that I first truly realized the possibility of going on Walkabout. And I said I would blog a little more about the concept.
Walkabout is an Aboriginal concept. Most sources say it was a rite of passage for adolescent boys who went out into the desert for a certain period of time. During their time in the desert they follow their tribe's songlines through the desert, seeking their own strengths and weaknesses. I've also read in some places that older men also occassionally went, or go, on Walkabout when they feel an urge to do so.
I first heard about the concept of Walkabout on an episode of Babylon 5 where the station's doctor leaves his job and home and goes on Walkabout in an area of the space station that is considered dangerous. He is seeking himself, literally, and resolves to stay on Walkabout until he meets himself. He walks and walks until eventually he does meet himself, and even fights himself. Afterwards he has had an epiphany about who he is and what he wants out of life. He returns to his daily life, more fulfilled.
Walkabout is an Aboriginal concept. Most sources say it was a rite of passage for adolescent boys who went out into the desert for a certain period of time. During their time in the desert they follow their tribe's songlines through the desert, seeking their own strengths and weaknesses. I've also read in some places that older men also occassionally went, or go, on Walkabout when they feel an urge to do so.
I first heard about the concept of Walkabout on an episode of Babylon 5 where the station's doctor leaves his job and home and goes on Walkabout in an area of the space station that is considered dangerous. He is seeking himself, literally, and resolves to stay on Walkabout until he meets himself. He walks and walks until eventually he does meet himself, and even fights himself. Afterwards he has had an epiphany about who he is and what he wants out of life. He returns to his daily life, more fulfilled.
Though the Babylon 5 episode takes the Walkabout concept completely literally (the doctor literally meets another version of himself), on a symbolic level, when someone goes on Walkabout they are seeking themselves. Who they are, what their strengths are, what their weaknesses are, what they are capable of during hardship, when they must throw in their cards... and you stay on Walkabout until you meet yourself.
That concept has stayed with me since I first saw the Babylon 5 episode. The idea of leaving everything behind and setting out into the desert, the wild open world, and just walking until I met myself resonated with me.
Then when I first began planning my travel abroad, the idea of going on Walkabout began to insinuate itself into my thoughts. Once I realized that leaving for six or nine or even 12 months wasn't actually that much different than leaving for three months, in terms of job searching when I came back, going on Walkabout began to seem possible.
It wasn't long before I began referring to my upcoming journey as my Walkabout. I was going out into the big, scary world, without my usual support structure, and I was going to meet myself -- whoever that was.
It was terrifying really. Not just the thought of going out into the world alone and facing who knows what, but also the thought of meeting myself. What if I didn't like who I met? What if I was weak and incapable of being on my own? What if I failed altogether and didn't discover anything about myself? What if I came home exactly the same as when I left?
It would take a book to explore what I learned about myself on Walkabout, but learn I did. I believe I learned more about myself in the nine months I spent traveling than in the 30-something years prior. It wasn't an easy process. It wasn't pain-free, but it was totally worth it.
Have you ever thought about picking up and leaving? Would you ever consider going on Walkabout, walking until you met yourself?
It wasn't long before I began referring to my upcoming journey as my Walkabout. I was going out into the big, scary world, without my usual support structure, and I was going to meet myself -- whoever that was.
It was terrifying really. Not just the thought of going out into the world alone and facing who knows what, but also the thought of meeting myself. What if I didn't like who I met? What if I was weak and incapable of being on my own? What if I failed altogether and didn't discover anything about myself? What if I came home exactly the same as when I left?
It would take a book to explore what I learned about myself on Walkabout, but learn I did. I believe I learned more about myself in the nine months I spent traveling than in the 30-something years prior. It wasn't an easy process. It wasn't pain-free, but it was totally worth it.
Have you ever thought about picking up and leaving? Would you ever consider going on Walkabout, walking until you met yourself?
I don't know if I would/could do that.. I have thought about just picking up and leaving before though. I just don't know where I would go or what I would do.. which I suppose is half the point. And yeah.. I clearly remember when Dr. Franklin did that :).
ReplyDeleteAh, the joys of being a B5 geek...
ReplyDeleteThe closest I got to being on walkabout was moving to Georgia for grad school. There I would have no one I knew, couldn't drive home on the weekends to get a free hot meal and such. I don't think back on it as a hard time, and i can't remember feeling that homesick or lonely. In fact it wasn't until after I was married the first time that I ever felt really lonely.
Although I have to look at my life as a journey, and I've learned alot about myself, I know I've also never stripped down to my bare skin and threw myself to the dangers or excitements that the unknown world has the potential to present. With everything I've ever done I'm sure there was/is always a safety net of some sort.
But to really find oneself or to go on walkabout, does one have to walk without a safety net?
Anyway, I suggest the book by Marlo Morgan "Mutant message downunder" for an very interesting story of one womans' walkabout. Her other book "Mutant message from forever", a contemporary view of the oppression of aborigines, is also very good.
Sharon W