I read this fucking amazing quote about travel & experiences the other day and I'm kicking myself for not writing it down, but it went something like this: experience is not defined by seeing new things, but rather by changing the way you view things.  I've been obsessed with the notion of requiring new places/faces/things in order to truly experience something monumental, something worthwhile, something I can be in awe of.  When in reality, if I am strong enough and I am willing enough, I can have endless insurmountably poignant life experiences no matter where I am on the globe, no matter who I am surrounded by, no matter my state of mind.  This notion fascinates me, and makes me feel a great deal more grounded and secure in some of my recent life decisions.  So even if I'm not off running around the city streets of Paris, getting lost in the Metro & discovering boat clubs with other crazy ass Americans, I can still be having a damn good time wherever I find myself, with whoever I find myself (or don't find myself) with.  It's all about perspective, and I really like that thought.

The greatest explorer on this earth never takes voyages as long as those of the man who descends to the depth of his heart.  - Julien Green

A man travels the world over in search of what he needs and returns home to find it.  - George Moore

There is a great deal of unmapped country within us which would have to be taken into account in an explanation of our gusts and storms.  - George Eliot