Saturday 22 November 2014

The Joy and the Scourge of Travel



Courtesy of Google Images



So you want to travel?  The world is your oyster, so go forth and explore as they say, but is it as simple as that?

The appealing romantic notion of life on the road, without a care, pervades many of our daydreams.  Travel is the circuit breaker to life's daily monotonous grind, good or bad experiences, it matters little as long as it's not at home.  It's the adventure of it all, the adrenaline rush of uncertainty, anything but boring. 

I've spent the latter part of my life thinking this way.  Due to circumstances, I have ended up living in South East Asia for the best part of 10 years and have been lucky enough to have the opportunity to expand my cultural and spacial awareness.  

We should all travel if we can.  Travel brings ideas and refreshes the mind to new and exciting possibilities and it makes us re-examine the way we look at the world.  Home is never the same again; the last missing piece completes the puzzle and illustrates with brilliant clarity; we are all but a product of our own upbringing and environment.

To travel is what every human should do some stage during their life, but of course it's impossible for most; not everyone has the means or the desire.

Any downside to this quest to explore?  Yes, I fear so.
Is it better to seek security or live life to its fullest? A question that truly polarises. 
With all that travel brings into our life also comes some unwanted baggage - discontentment. 
The more you travel the more you want.  I am sure you know or have seen the addicted 20 somethings that spend all their time on the road living out of a backpack, darting from one exotic location to another. The gypsy within, makes us quietly envious of these drifters even if we think it's a touch irresponsible for them not to settle down sooner. 

Of course the elephant in the room is truly money or the lack of it.  I have spent tens of thousands on travel over the years but not for one moment regretted the expense. Others will disagree.  I, for one, won't be dying with a bucket full of money in the bank.  Many could not bear that thought. 

Travel creates the need to travel more.  There is always one more road to find and one more beach to wander on. 


So what should we do, stay at home and end our wanderlust? Personally, I think the benefits far outweigh the downside as long as all of us realize there is more to life than wanting to be elsewhere. 

1 comment:

  1. The thing about the bank in your third last paragraph? Well, that makes two of us. But, in a way, we die immensely richer, si?

    ReplyDelete

Note: only a member of this blog may post a comment.