What are the reasons that led me down the path of long term travel and is there a purpose?
Firstly, I would like to say, I am under no illusion of how privileged I am to
be able to travel long term, compared to be majority of people on earth,
let alone from my home country of the UK.
If for one reason
alone, travelling is an eye opener to different lives and cultures
across the world. I try to remind myself constantly that we are all
human and essentially the same, trying to live our lives the best that
we can, with what we have.
Diane
A big influence
on my decision to go travelling was a former work colleague by the name
of Diane. She left this planet at the tender age of 39 and was a huge
inspiration and influence in getting me to go past my comfort zone and
embrace backpacking; despite my arguments about my age and other feeble
excuses.
The photo you see here, I took in a restaurant in London while having
dinner with a friend. I could not believe my eyes, this painting bearing
an uncanny resemblence to Diane. As I mention on my
Facebook page - She still manages to put in an appearance in her own way.
Redundancy
The
initial long term travel idea took hold with being made redundant in
2011. This blessing in disguise was the change I needed. Taking time to
reflect and then change my thinking, which in turn changed my reality. I
decided, I did not want to work full-time again, sacrifices were made,
and a simpler life ensued.
Bills had to be paid, so I became a
freelance contractor working enough to sustain my new life, the
difference however, was that I was now working on my terms.
Admittedly,
being "The Temp" in an office meant having to swallow some bitter pills
such as undertaking mundane tasks others put my way.....but it was easy
to remind myself of my new path and stay on course.
I also came
to embrace that our time on earth is limited and yet a huge chunk is
given over to helping an employer reach their goals. Yes, if you are
fortunate, having a fulfilling career is great, but ultimately I was
playing someone else's song...I decided it was time to write my own.
During
this time, I also came to question the typical trajectory of life.
Where a higher education is the norm in order to secure a better job (or
these days, one at Starbucks) which ultimately leads to the
accumulation of things. Gadgets, cars, houses, holidays etc. Utimately,
more success = more and "bigger & better" things.....it never
actually ends, as we are drawn into this "rinse & repeat"
cycle.....which is then taught to our children by ourselves, society and
the education system.
Fear
In most countries, we
grow up in a fear based society. Fear of getting the correct grades at
school, college and university in order to get the "best" job. Once we
secure it, we are then scared of losing it due to the financial
commitments we acquire.
Fear through absorbing the programmes on tv, radio and newspapers which despite mainly negative stories.
I
have for the past year stopped absorbing this negativity at home and
feel so much better for it. Travelling will make it even easier without
access to the main stream media programming.
As travelling brings
up many unknowns, it quickly teaches you to adapt and deal with
situations as a part of your journey. You quickly learn to belay any
fears, because they actually do not exist as part of one's reality
today, instead they are a part of your past and your upbringing. Once
you reach this stage, you have true freedom and can live life to the
fullest.
Time
For many, travelling means visiting
as many places as possible on their bucket list in the time available.
For others, it's simply a matter of having fun.
Due to the long
term nature of my trip, time has little meaning. I am not in a rush "to
do" the top 10 attractions in each location. My trip has more in common
with living abroad with different destinations as opposed to travelling.
In London, I would often choose to have a totally chilled weekend, it
is no different when abroad......there is no time.
People
With
my life in London, the opportunity to meet new people with different
points of view was limited depending on how often I would go out.
Staying in hostels on the whole is a much more open experience as
meeting people is so much easier. My circle of acquaintances/friends
will be diverse and constantly changing which will keep things
interesting. Yes, there is often an age gap between myself and fellow
backpackers, but we have travelling as the common denominator and so
conversation tends to flow easily.
Food
We are very fortunate in London to have access to an amazing selection of good food due to our multicultural society.
To
say that I am a foodie is an understatement. To experience different
types of food on my journey was always a huge incentive. The only
downside is that I'm sure I will eventually tire of other people's
cooking and need to cook for myself.
Photography
I
have on previous trips become really interested in photographing real
life as I see and experience it on my travels. With street photography
you're never
really sure what you will see and whether or not you can capture a fleeting moment by taking a photograph in a split second.
This
doesn't mean I have my camera with me at all times, it all depends on
the destination. I now take "tourist" type photos with my mobile phone
to use in my diary app to document my journey, with my main camera
coming out, only when I feel the correct vibe at a destination.
Reading
Travelling
gives me the opportunity to catch up on reading all the books that I
have amassed on my phone and tablet. In the past, I never really had
the time to read as I was so busy just living life. The only real
opportunity to fully absorb a book was on beach type holidays.
Creating
A
big part of my new life, is having the time to be creative which
includes: photography, creating new websites, personal projects and
coming up with new ideas for products and services. My mind is so free
and full of ideas and
possibilities that I will probably struggle to accomplish everything in my lifetime.....but I will try.
After
a lot of reading, I came to realize, that there really is no limit on
what we are truly capable of. The restrictions of ill held belief's
placed upon us by our upbringing, the education system and ourselves are
merely thoughts that can be challenged, removed and reversed. When you
free your mind, you instantly broaden your perspective on life. We also
need to remember that we each have something unique to contribute to
society with talents and attributes that no one else possesses.
Purpose
Family
& friends are naturally concerned that I have decided to embark on
such a long journey and can't really understand why.
My aim is to
embrace life as it unfolds, using my visual, auditory, kinaesthetic and
spiritual senses and to stop trying to control life. I should qualify the word spiritual, as there may be confusion as to my definition.
I
define spirituality as understanding consciousness and not being
connected to any form of human made religion which I view as just
another control mechanism designed to hold people back from their true
potential.
HOMEPAGE
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