Strange were my travels

Speaking of religious journeys (previous topic), I was reminded tonight of this quote I read a few years ago by Chinese philosopher Lin Yutang:

I tried to house my spirit within my body, but suddenly it disappeared outside; I tried to nourish my virtue by mildness, but suddenly it shifted to intensity of feeling; and I tried to wander in ether by keeping in the void, but suddenly there sprang up in me a desire. And so, being unable to find peace within myself, I made use of the external surroundings to calm my spirit, and being unable to find delight within my heart, I borrowed a landscape to please it. Therefore, strange were my travels.

- from The Importance of Living (1937)