I am not certain why the death of
Anthony Bourdain has made such an impact on me.
I am so saddened and find myself wondering why a man who seemingly
grabbed life by the tail; who had everything, would choose to leave this Earth
behind. I certainly was a fan of Anthony Bourdain’s shows, his books, his devil may care attitude.Somehow what he said
and how he lived his life resonated with me.
I love travel and I love to discover the food as it is intertwined those
people who are much different than myself.
The beauty of Anthony Bourdain's work, the honesty of his work, of melding travel with unique food, made sense to me. It touched me deeply, on a visceral level.
The beauty of Anthony Bourdain's work, the honesty of his work, of melding travel with unique food, made sense to me. It touched me deeply, on a visceral level.
On one hand I felt betrayed and angry at his taking of his
life. On the other hand, I understand
the deep pain and loneliness, that deep loneliness that crushes one’s heart. It
seemed he made this decision to end this feeling of despair which is buried
deep down. He made that final decision
to let go.
“Travel isn’t always pretty. It isn’t
always comfortable. Sometimes it hurts, it even breaks your heart. But that’s
okay. The journey changes you; it should change you. It leaves marks on your
memory, on your consciousness, on your heart, and on your body. You take
something with you. Hopefully, you leave something good behind.”
“I’m a big believer in winging it. I’m a
big believer that you’re never going to find perfect city travel experience or
the perfect meal without a constant willingness to experience a bad one.
Letting the happy accident happen is what a lot of vacation itineraries miss, I
think, and I’m always trying to push people to allow those things to happen
rather than stick to some rigid itinerary.”
“If I'm an advocate for anything, it's to
move. As far as you can, as much as you can. Across the ocean, or simply across
the river. The extent to which you can walk in someone else's shoes or at least
eat their food, it's a plus for everybody. Open your mind, get up off
the couch, move.”
“Food is everything we are. It's an
extension of nationalist feeling, ethnic feeling, your personal history, your
province, your region, your tribe, your grandma. It's inseparable from those
from the get-go.”
“Maybe that’s enlightenment enough: to
know that there is no final resting place of the mind; no moment of smug
clarity. Perhaps wisdom … is realizing how small I am, and unwise, and how far
I have yet to go.”
