The meaning of travel
Travel means a lot to me and I’m constantly amazed when people tell me that it doesn’t interest them, that they don’t feel a need or a longing to see the rest of the world.
I’m sure these people are equally amazed at me packing up my belongings, selling my car, putting my career on hold, walking away from a secure, good paying job and moving to a colder, wetter side of the world with no home, income or sunshine. Now tell me, what about that doesn’t sound appealing to you?
It may sound crazy but this is my dream, and it’s happening right now.
Despite what people think, it isn’t hard to pack up your life and start all over again in another country, it’s just a bit scary for a while and then you deal with it, adjust and keep moving forward. We’re all designed to do this, to be able to cope in any situation, so if you’re not following your dream out of fear then the only thing holding you back is yourself.
I didn’t always want this, in fact for a long time I didn’t know that this was even an option. Then one day something in me longed for more. I looked around me and while I love my country, all I could think was ‘this can’t be it’.
It makes me feel physically ill to think of spending the rest of my life in one place without having seen the world.
My travel bucket list is huge, I want to see the whole world. If it were safe enough for a very white, very blonde female, I would even go to Afghanistan and Syria.
So what is it that draws certain people to want to give up their world to see the world.
I don’t know about everybody else, but when I’m traveling I feel so light and genuinely happy. Sitting on a train, marveling at a site, not having anyone know where I am… It fills my whole chest with happiness. Travel is one of the few things I do in my life that is just for me and few things in life make me happier than standing in a new country knowing that I worked hard to get here and this moment, is mine.
I work to pay bills and taxes, diet so others don’t think I’m fat, cook to feed friends and family, support and comfort loved ones.
But travel, that’s all mine. That’s just for me. My plan, my time, my dream.
No matter what we each need, desire and long for in our lives, it’s ours. It’s yours. So go for it. Because at the end, you don’t want to regret not doing what you really wanted.
littlegreybox.
26 Comments on “The meaning of travel”
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What is littlegreybox?
littlegreybox is a meeting point of humorous perspective, food and travel experiences and my life journey. It's my outlet, a source of inspiration and a way to share and connect with people around the world.
I read that you’ve been to Indonesia, you should go back here again and visit other provinces :D
I love Indonesia! It’s definitely on my to do list – where do you recommend?
It depends on what you like. Since Indonesia is a big country with 33 provinces and each province have a unique character, such as Jogjakarta have strong culture and there is a great Buddhist temple called Candi Borobudur. If you like diving, you can go to Raja Ampat. Or you can watch sunrise from Bromo in Malang or hike to Mount of Rinjani in Lombok. What do you like? :)
It’s great to see someone write about living their dream. Travel takes a degree of courage. The idea of uprooting and transplanting myself somewhere else terrifies me, but visits are something else entirely. Someday I will see more of the world outside of books.
Wow! Thank you! You should definitely follow your heart and follow your dream… there’s nothing more rewarding.
Great post!
1. If you don’t go after what you want you’ll never have it.
2. If you don’t ask, the answer will always be no
3. If you don’t step forward you will always be in the same place.
Go forth & live the life you’ve imagined (sounds like you already are, Glad you’re following your heart!) & if you want to meet me somewhere along my journey feel free to do so. I always love to have new travel buddies :)
Cheers!
~Sydney
Exactly, I completely agree. It all comes down to you and what you do.
That would be amazing, love meeting new people who love to Travel. I’ll keep my eyes peeled to see where you’re headed and maybe we’ll cross paths.
P
Hi Sydney, couldn’t help but notice you took the liberty of copy and pasting my blog onto your page and rewording it a bit – I wouldn’t have minded but you didn’t give me any credit for my words and idea….. so if you could either give me credit for it or take it down, that would be really appreciated :) Writing means a lot to me, this isn’t just a hobby – I want it to be my career and my life, I hope you understand where I’m coming from and can respect it.
Oh no! My last comment to you must not have gone through to you. I had said “Thank you for inspiring me because I feel exactly the same way, May I use your words? Let me know the best way to reference you. Should I just put your blog link?” Of course I want to give you credit…Writing means a lot to me as well. This is not a hobby for me either. I quit my job to travel & write. Sorry for any confusion. I just added your link. If you need me to add any additional information let me know. Have a great day :)
Hello,
No I never got your other comment :S Thank you for adding the link – it’s a few spaces from the bottom of the blog, so people may not see it. I’d really appreciate if you could click the ‘reblog’, this will post it to your site and still give me full credit for my passion :) I’m really flattered that you’ve mentioned the post was inspired by me, in all fairness I wrote the post and a few things were changed so I hope you can understand me asking for the reblog.
Thanks Sydney, appreciate your help from one Travel lover to another!
Have a lovely weekend wherever you are in the world.
P
Nice one and I can absolutely relate to all of it.
Thanks for reading my post! I look forward to reading more of yours. Nick
thanks for stumbling upon my blog! hats off to you and your decision to ‘live life!’ looking forward to more posts!
Wow. I couldn’t agree with this post more. You sound similar to me (the very white, blonde female thing especially). I think it is amazing what you are doing. Also, you are very right about the fear. I recently had my life changing epiphany about seeing the world and letting go of the worry and fear. Might not be on such a large scale as what you are achieving, but who knows what the future holds. Look forward to your posts.
Couldnt agree more – I work to save money to travel & I doubt I’ll ever get sick of seeing new places & exploring new cultures. New York in July – ill let you know if I spot your twin Serena in the upper East side :-)
That was such a well written blog and an absolute pleasure to read. I completely relate to you on all levels – I too can’t quite grasp how people aren’t at all interested in seeing the world, and I’m also moving abroad because as much as I love it here, I find the thought of living in this one city for the rest of my life so depressing.
I read that you’ve moved from Australia to London which is what I’m in the process of doing, so I will follow your blog posts with great interest! And if you have any tips for me along the way please don’t hold back from sharing your wisdom :)
Hello! Thank you for the follow!
I have been working on and just published an article on moving to London from Australia, have a read and if you have any questions that I didn’t answer just let me know :)
Thanks so much for liking my most recent post and for the follow! Love your outlook on travel and life. I’m now a follower :)
Hi Jessica – thank you so much!
Hey, I couldnt agree more with you on travel but I am still playing safe and just not had the courage to pack up and move. Hope to be able to do it someday. In the interim, do visit India.
Well said. Glad to see that you’re exploring the world. It’s the journey of a lifetime, you know.
Thanks for stopping by my blog and liking What a Wonderful World. I am going to follow your blog as of this morning.
Scott
I’m right there with you! We did the “crazy” too, but with a family (and a job!). We had a few years in Europe, and it was so worth it. Thanks for liking my Florence post–from one of our family vacations while we lived there. :-)
Great post – I totally understand where you are coming from! Travel and exploring new places is like heaven to me too! It is when I feel happiest. Good for you for getting out and living it up! Happy travels.
I love traveling, too. Just finished a couple of road trips, nothing big, but still travel, still enjoyable and good for blogging about! When I was growing up, we didn’t have a lot of money, but we always went somewhere on vacation each year and that must have been the start of it. I’ve had lots of excellent adventures since then and don’t plan to stop traveling.
Being that you are on the go so much, I realize your exercise schedule might be hard to keep (see previous post in the “exercise” category. I just recently took up “wogging” (combo of walking/jogging). It’s quite pleasurable with your favorite loud music pumping from the Pandora app.