--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I once expected to spend seven years…" description: "\"“I once expected to spend seven years walking around the world on foot. I walked from Mexico to Panama where the road ended before an almost uninhabite..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fae/george-whitman-57549_around-the-world_i-once-expected-to-spend-seven-years-wal_410430.jpg" --- # I once expected to spend seven years walking around the… ![“I once expected to spend seven years walking around the world on foot. I walked from Mexico to Panama where the road ended before an almost uninhabited swamp called the Choco Colombiano. Even today there is no road. Perhaps it is time for me to resume my wanderings where I left off as a tropical…” quote by George Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fae/george-whitman-57549_around-the-world_i-once-expected-to-spend-seven-years-wal_410430.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fae/george-whitman-57549_around-the-world_i-once-expected-to-spend-seven-years-wal_410430.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fae/george-whitman-57549_around-the-world_i-once-expected-to-spend-seven-years-wal_410430.jpg) > ““I once expected to spend seven years walking around the world on foot. I walked from Mexico to Panama where the road ended before an almost uninhabited swamp called the Choco Colombiano. Even today there is no road. Perhaps it is time for me to resume my wanderings where I left off as a tropical tramp in the slums of Panama. Perhaps like Ambrose Bierce who disappeared in the desert of Sonora I may also disappear. But after being in all mankind it is hard to come to terms with oblivion - not to see hundreds of millions of Chinese with college diplomas come aboard the locomotive of history - not to know if someone has solved the riddle of the universe that baffled Einstein in his futile efforts to make space, time, gravitation and electromagnetism fall into place in a unified field theory - never to experience democracy replacing plutocracy in the military-industrial complex that rules America - never to witness the day foreseen by Tennyson 'when the war-drums no longer and the battle-flags are furled, in the parliament of man, the federation of the world.' I may disappear leaving behind me no worldly possessions - just a few old socks and love letters, and my windows overlooking Notre-Dame for all of you to enjoy, and my little rag and bone shop of the heart whose motto is 'Be not inhospitable to strangers lest they be angels in disguise.' I may disappear leaving no forwarding address, but for all you know I may still be walking among you on my vagabond journey around the world." \[ Shakespeare & Company, archived statement \]”” [George Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-whitman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A wanderer reflects on unfulfilled journeys, the weight of history, and the desire to vanish while leaving behind love and compassion. **In simple terms:** A traveler feels both burdened and hopeful, contemplating disappearance and legacy. Key Takeaway Embrace wandering, cherish connections, and accept impermanence. Themes wanderlust legacy impermanence philosophy humanity Mood melancholic hopeful reflective Type philosophical personal poetic When to use this quote - travel writing - personal essay - public speaking Key Concepts existentialism nostalgia social critique Questions to Reflect On - What would you leave behind if you vanished? - How do you balance personal freedom with societal obligations? A Different Perspective The romantic ideal of disappearance may ignore practical responsibilities and impacts on others. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Around the world](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/around-the-world/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [Hospitality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hospitality/) [Humanity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humanity/) [Legacies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/legacies/) [Love letters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love-letters/) [Mankind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mankind/) [Mementos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mementos/) [Space time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/space-time/) [Travel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/travel/) [Wanderings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wanderings/) [Worldly possessions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/worldly-possessions/) ## Related quotes > [“I feel like a little kid in a toy shop. All those books. 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Ambrose Bierce”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/present-that-part-of-eternity-dividing-the-domain-of-disappointment/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Many readers are familiar with the spirit and the letter of the definition of “prayer,” as given by Ambrose Bierce in his Devil’s Dictionary.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/many-readers-are-familiar-with-the-spirit-and-the-letter-of-the/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [“In almost thirty years of walking around on the grass of the world, she couldn't recall having spent two minutes alone with a butterfly.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/in-almost-thirty-years-of-walking-around-on-the-grass-of-the-world/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [My whole life has changed in the last three years and The Walking Dead' is no small part of that. 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I walked from Mexico to Panama where the road ended before an almost uninhabited swamp called the Choco Colombiano. Even today there is no road. Perhaps it is time for me to resume my wanderings where I left off as a tropical tramp in the slums of Panama. Perhaps like Ambrose Bierce who disappeared in the desert of Sonora I may also disappear. But after being in all mankind it is hard to come to terms with oblivion - not to see hundreds of millions of Chinese with college diplomas come aboard the locomotive of history - not to know if someone has solved the riddle of the universe that baffled Einstein in his futile efforts to make space, time, gravitation and electromagnetism fall into place in a unified field theory - never to experience democracy replacing plutocracy in the military-industrial complex that rules America - never to witness the day foreseen by Tennyson 'when the war-drums no longer and the battle-flags are furled, in the parliament of man, the federation of the world.' I may disappear leaving behind me no worldly possessions - just a few old socks and love letters, and my windows overlooking Notre-Dame for all of you to enjoy, and my little rag and bone shop of the heart whose motto is 'Be not inhospitable to strangers lest they be angels in disguise.' 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