It’s well documented that travel enriches the soul and expands the mind.
Books aside, we all know someone who’s returned from extended overseas travel, and can’t stop raving about the amazing experiences waiting for them when they dared to leave whatever country they’ve been using as their global backyard.
That said, some folks still talk about travel as though it’s some kind of fairy tale, reserved for careless 2o somethings, or the incredibly wealthy, heck, some even tell us they’ll never be able to do what we’ve done…
“Drop everything just like that, and travel the world for a year or so, no care in the world”.
“It’s easy for you” they say.
Easy for me?
Why exactly is it easy for me? because I made a decision years ago, that I would not go to my grave without knowing what is feels like to board a plane with no return ticket, just me, and my backpack and the entire planet for a playground.
Easy for me?
It was no easier for me to float the idea of round the world travel, and have it shot down by friends and family than it will be for you or anyone else, my friend.
You see, like most, My own travel adventures seemed like nothing more than a distant dream. For years I doubted whether the soles of my feet would ever touch foreign soil.
I bought a home and took on a mortgage at the tender age of 19, so I’ve felt the weight of life’s compounding responsibilities just like most people.
That’s until one day I had enough.
I know you’ve heard the story before, the underdog puts up with struggle and turmoil for years, until one day – BOOM, they have a break-through experience, and their life changes forever. Well, that’s not how my story goes at all, I simply had enough, enough excuses, enough setbacks, enough dreaming of faraway exotic lands.
So, I booked a plane ticket to Thailand. Not allowing anybody to talk me out of it, I jumped on the internet and booked a one way flight to Bangkok, and presto…
I was a backpacker!
“So Many people tip toe through life to get to death safely” Tony campolo
Holy shit, you mean after all those years of bullshit excuses and crippling doubts about whether it would actually happen for you, all of it dissolved in the 15 minutes it took to books those flights online?
Yep, that’s how long it took to crush those, good for nothing, soul destroying, life inhibiting thoughts.
It’s way to easy to put your dreams off using mental alibis like; others have it easier than you. Fact is, if your’e neither living your dream of travel, or at very least in the midst of seriously planning it, you just don’t want it badly enough!
So the question is – are you happy to keep “tip toeing through life” or are you going to take the bull by the horns, get out there and live a little?
{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
Hey 🙂 this was quite profound to me as im currently planning ( nothing is booked yet) to travel through South East Asia for an extended period, beginning in Bangkok. I am feeling nervous, and have had people (mainly my Dad) hating on the idea. But i know i want to live an amazing life and to experience everything i can, i feel strongly that i need to do this, as you said once i book it i will go and be a traveller and can stop dreaming about it and start living it 🙂
Hey Donna,
I’m pumped to hear you’re planning a backpacking trip!
Fact is, you’re always going to have people who lack the desire (and courage) to travel, and cannot understand what you’re doing, or why you’re doing it. Others around you have their own reasons & motivations for discouraging you from travel – some are sincere, some are not. Jealousy, fear, worry that you’ll change as a person, etc…
I can tell you one thing for sure, I put off my backpacking trip for years, sometimes I even thought it was never going to happen. Now in hindsight, I can’t believe I put it off for so long, (or that I sometimes considered not doing it at all). It has genuinely been the most amazing thing, both Anna and I have ever done, the things we experienced, and the relationships we made, will last a lifetime.
Sometimes when we look through our travel photos, sitting there in awe we think “Wow can you believe we really did this!”
The nerves are normal Donna, but don’t let them stop you from living the amazing life that you deserve!
Like Nelson Mandela said “It always seems impossible until it’s done”
Hi again Marc, thanks for your adviceall those months ago i was stoked to get a reply. i just wanted to let you know im going!! i booked i fly into Bangkok on February 25th so in just a few months! i still cant belive this is going to be a reality. thanks again, Donna
You are awesome Donna. Congratulations – you won’t regret it, you’ll have the time of your life!
I couldn’t agree less on this article Marc. There are moments I also told my friends who always claimed to be happier than me while they stayed in their homes, watching tv and me, walking in dusty roads somewhere in Cambodia. I told them life is not about making the most money where they are, we all need those but the desk we stayed on never will give us the kind of life the road provides.
I always remind myself though that a life will always be rewarding when you know how others lived their lives, far too closely or remote to your own, that way, you surely are transformed, making you the best agent for a more cosmopolitan approach to living in this world.
Hey Marc & Anna, just thought of you 🙂 i have been out here travelling for nearly 2months now and it is indeed the best thing i have ever done!!! Im soo glad i took the leap of faith! And it seems just to be rewarded for taking a big step out of your comfort zone.
I am in Kep, Cambodia at the moment, having travelled north through Thailand and all the way down through Laos, im planning on travelling a year in total, already i cant believe the people i have met and the things ive seen and done. Just thought id give you a little update 🙂 happy travels!
Hey Donna, Anna & I are sooo glad to hear you’re having the time of your life!
It’s incredible how easy it is once you get going & get some momentum. I presume you’re headed North to Siem Reap to visit Angkor? what a place!
How much fun is Southeast Asia 🙂
Travel Well Donna
Marc & Anna