Sunday, July 7, 2013

'Cuz I bought a god damn Ticket!

Another great travel blog post that I came across today - http://infinitesatori.org/2013/06/25/do-yourself-a-favor-and-buy-that-damn-plane-ticket-already/ and I read it guilt free! The first few words would have pricked me if I hadn't bought tickets for a trip that I plan to go with my bud a couple of months down the line! (More on that later :)) But today as I read that blog, I felt proud. I am in quite an amount of financial crunch but I still decided to go when the plan seemed to fall in place. I did not back out because I had less money. I looked at it as an investment - an investment in experience\happiness and my love to travel. I reiterated to myself that "money is going to come some day. I have saved when needed, and this travel is something I've wanted to do for so long, and that I can make it all work out just fine."  I convinced myself I don't have to justify to others on the reason I planned this travel when I could rather save it for something more important. To me, I am confident I can balance and not wallow if I am put in a tough situation of financial crisis. I also know there are things that are more important than this trip. But for now, this trip is important to me 'cuz its a wish, and when you wish for something, you don't scrape it off when the opportunity comes to you! As for rest of my unknown problems, I will cross the bridge when I come to it.

I loved the blog because it talks about how people make excuses for not being able to travel, which is so true! I am glad I try my best to not fall into that category. I'll quote here a subset of excuses listed in Satori's blog, the excuses that I have heard the most and my two cents on those.


Excuse 1: Travelling is expensive! - Analyse your 'routine' expenditure. I am sure there are atleast 5 things you can try to cut down money on. Save! Spend that on something you love to do! If you love to travel, you should love it enough to spend less on lavish food\shopping.


Excuse 2: I don’t have friends who can travel with me. And I don’t want to travel alone. - I agree that its the silliest of excuses! Travelling alone might be the first step for you to become a more friendly\more approachable person. I have met such wonderful people while travelling alone, and had such great conversations. Travelling alone lets you know there is so much that you don't know yet. It lets you believe more in 'Good'. The fact that there is still humanity. There are people who will help you. There are strangers who make you smile. Enjoy being alone. Learn to talk to strangers. Be excited to travel alone. The sense of liberation can't be expressed in words. Favor yourself by feeling that once.


My most fond memory of not caring for company was when I wanted to skydive. It wasn't something that I had thought for long. But I had a crazy nerve to do it when I was in the US. I searched, found a place online, gathered my guts to drive alone on the freeway that Saturday morning (I had started driving just two days earlier in the US. I was more scared to drive the car on the American roads than to skydive!), looked up the map a hundred times the night before I headed out to the skydiving school, and somehow did it! I met some lovely people there, did a tandem jump, was full of smiles and called my parents back in India to let them know I just jumped off a plane 13500 feet high! To me, it was one of the craziest things I've ever done. I pray I will beat myself doing more crazier stuff because I don't wanna settle. I want to have that zeal for adventure even when I'm fifty :)


Excuse 3: But I can’t just quit my job. What happens if I don’t get a job when I get back? - I partially fall under this category. Like the average person, my job security is important to me. Its my bread and butter. But I believe I can work in the bounds of my job to make the most possible travel happen. I dream that one day I will have a primary job that will give me a sabbatical often enough for me to travel every year! I dream with belief and one day I believe the dream will come true. But until then, let's bite down at reality - we have jobs, but we have allotted leave don't we? Most of the work culture these days focus on employee work life balance. If you can complete your work expectations well in time, and communicate yourself clearly on your leave plans, there can't be anyone to stop. It works that way, only as much as you want it to work that way, meaning, it depends on how you manage the talks. Stay responsible and people won't question you. And take off from work guilt free. Make yourself good at the work you do. No one can then mock at your 'absence for an adventurous travel'. If you still worry about the perception, teach yourself that there are more important things in life than your job. You ought to learn to let go of responsibilities at work sometimes, learn to delegate, let go of the insecurity of being away and take off for some travel in life. If you don't plan better, and prioritize what's important to you, your boss or company is not going to care more to make your life well balanced. So talk out openly to your superiors at work, plan your work, plan your days off, and plan your trip in those bounds. You'll get back to work a happier person.



"Travel is never a matter of money but of courage.  I spent a large part of my youth traveling the world as a hippie. And what money did I have then? None. I barely had enough to pay for my fare. But I still consider those to have been the best years of my youth.The great lessons I learned has been precisely those that my journeys had taught me.”
-Paulo Coelho

 In a nutshell, prioritize your love to travel! In today's world of high end jobs and daily socialism, its easy to forget to spend time on more substantial experiences. We forget too easy and we regret more easily. Which of  these excuses do you use the most? Work on them. Life is too short to be spent on just routine living. You are too young to settle in one place. Travel the world and you'll love yourself for letting you experience it!