I almost let today quietly slip by me. I almost didn’t notice a full year had gone by since my travels around the world serving those in need. I landed back home this very day just last year.
And in this past year, when I would mention the places I’ve been, eyes would widen with excitement over my exciting life.
A lot of people carry a desire to go out and travel. They want to laugh with street vendors and jump off a big rock into warm waters and kneel at eye level with the impoverished. It’s a beautiful desire, I lived that desire. I learned a lot, experienced a lot, changed a lot, and am grateful.
But there’s a danger in making travel synonymous with living a full life, as if it’s the foundation for a fulfilled existence. It gives the sense that we’ve missed out on life if we haven’t traveled. We feel less wise, less experienced, our lives less worthwhile.
But you’re not missing out. You’re simply living your life out differently. Not everyone has the same journey, not everyone walks the same path.
Traveling doesn’t necessarily make you wiser or more knowledgeable. After all, I was all those things before I traveled [cue eye roll].
Sometimes finances or responsibilities or even comforts keep us grounded where we are. And sometimes people just don’t like to travel, stuck in a plane for 18 hours, then a train for another 4 hours, and finally a 20 minute taxi ride…with a driver that doesn’t speak the same language. Let’s not disdain other’s desire for a stable 9 to 5 lifestyle. Some birds have wings, but aren’t meant to fly.
Life isn’t just out there. It’s here. You have to choose to live it wherever you are.
Find the moments that give you life. For me, sometimes it’s just stepping outside to breath some fresh air after a day indoors, or meeting a friend at a coffee shop, or laying in front of the TV and watching a good movie with my siblings. I honestly feel alive in those moments. Just as alive as walking the dirt roads in Malawi, or talking with friends under a coconut tree, or watching a monkey just outside my window.
It’s less about where you are, and more about how willing you are to be present.
It’s crazy that it’s already been almost two years since you left, but yes you were wise and knowledgeable before you left ;-p
But it’s also crazy that even though you were gone for 11 months, at the time you absence was noticeable, but now that you’re back it seems as though that absence has faded and it’s back to how it was before you left (even if you live in “The City” now.)
And now I get to hear about that blip in time and of how much you were able to help and make friendships and just live life, and now that your back you’re able to do the same here. I guess what it shows is that you truly do make an impact where you are… be it in a foreign country across the world, or here in The City by The Bay.
Yes, we can make an impact wherever we are. Thanks for noticing that in me as well.
Yesss girl. I have the same sentiment in choosing to be grounded in one place after post-college years letting the wind take me wherever and whenever. Learning to practice gratitude in my present state. It’s wonderful.
Gratitude is so key. Reminds me of Brene Brown, “I don’t have to chase extraordinary moments to find happiness – it’s right in front of me if I’m paying attention and practicing gratitude.”
YEESSS!!! Love that quote!!! Definitely will be using it!!