Why travel?
I’ve reached a major transition phase in my life. I look around and am surrounded by robots. Not REAL robots, but people doing the same exact thing day in and day out. Nothing new. Nothing fresh. No growth. No consciousness. Things that used to make me happy, don’t anymore. I’m not particularly fond of the path I’m on. It seems so mundane. So routine. Life, but lifeless. Welcome to the machine. I need to make changes to get lost and find myself again. It’s started already. Just writing it down and sharing it here has already brought it that much more into reality. More-so than the adventure I’ve had in my head. I’m excited and scared at the same time. Like the anticipation you feel when removing the cork from a champagne bottle.
My friends are excited for me. My family is terrified. The past 9 years of my life seem to have come and gone in a flash. I’ve learned so much. Yet I have so much to still learn. I’ve been extremely materialistic most of my life. Last weekend, I had a yard sale and made over $4,500. I’m in purge mode. I recently read an article on zenhabits.net that has resonated inside me to the point that I couldn’t ignore it anymore. I am not my stuff. My stuff does not make me who I am. I am a soul with a body. A soul with hopes and dreams. A soul yearning to live in the now. I don’t want to wake up and find myself 65 years old having not explored at least a small fraction of what this beautiful world has to offer. I’ve never done anything in a small-way, so I imagine this will follow-suit. My yard sale has already proven that to me. I want to make new connections and move forward.
I don’t want to be trapped in the american dream any more. I don’t want a 9a-5p for the next 30 years of my life. I don’t want to be stuck with a big mortgage payment and enough accompanying bills to soak up the majority of my income each and every payday. I know I’ve made those decisions. I don’t regret what I’ve chosen because I selected those things with the information I had at the time. I thought it was the best option – back then. The best option now is much different. Much, much different. I want to learn the lessons that only travel can provide. I want to be immersed in new cultures. Travel to new places. Meet new people. Try new things.
Step 1 – simplify. Step 2 – go.
Along the way, you’ll pick up on little things here and there that may or may not have led to my desire to travel and explore. I feel anxious to leave. I’m eager to learn whatever it is that I’m going to learn. To get lost and find myself. To grow. More soon.
Be well. And namaste.
Brian and I can relate. We have gone through this process and are still going through it. Not sure how soon you will set sail but we will be home (in Cinci) between Thanksgiving-New Years. We have so much to share with you and resources you could share here as well. Just be warned…once you start traveling it may be hard to ever stop.
I’m loving your suggestion of Railay Beach. Can’t wait to get to the national park nearby. Where in Indonesia did you two visit? I intend to visit Kuala Lampur in Malasia, then Jakarta and Bali while in Indonesia.