The end of the trip comes with jet lag…that peculiarly modern condition of your body not being in the same time zone as the place it’s inhabiting.
Jet lag comes with its own problems. I, for example, was up for the day at 4am today; by the end of the concert I conducted on tonight, my tiredness was so palpable I felt like I could physically hold it.
But there’s something I love about jet lag. Being hungry at weird times, waking at weird times…there’s a general discombobulation that, to me, is sort of a roller coaster ride. If it isn’t actually harming you, it gives you the chance to enjoy the ride and experience new perspectives.
Which in itself is a reason to love travel. Just as visiting a foreign land helps remove the blinders you might have about the world, experiencing jet lag helps you recognize the patterns you have in your life at home, and observe them as an outsider.
And it also gives you the chance to practice “mind over matter.” I remember my mentor struggling to record a guide track in the recording studio, just after returning from Europe. He talked himself into accurately playing a phrase he was struggling with. That sort of self-talk, overcoming the little hurdle of jet lag, is something we can put into practice in so many parts of our life.