I had a brief chat with an old friend the other day and when I asked what shes doing right now she sent me a picture of herself all bundled up in northern Alberta, freezing outside her place of work on a coffee break. In turn I sent one of me at that moment. Sitting on a beach, on the south island of New Zealand, mountains in the distance and a beer in my hand.
She gave me a reply that I hear so much…”lucky”
This rattles me to my core!
Its been on my mind the last couple days so I’m going to share some of my opinions on the subject.
Shes a great girl and I don’t hold it against her. I hear it so much and Im so tired of hearing it. Hearing people say “i wish i could do that” or “you’re so lucky”
I am being very honest when i say i do not have any magical powers or methods of hypnotism. Ask most people who know me well and they will surely tell you that I am not in any way a very “lucky” person. In all actuality I’m probably unlucky. If something can go wrong in my presence it probably will or is about too or already has.
So I ask you this.
Is there somewhere you would rather be then where you are right now?
Chilling on a beach in Spain? Sipping some wine in France? Playing your guitar in Nashville? Quading through the outback with the Kangaroos in Australia? Exploring an old castle in Scotland? Immerse into an entirely different culture in Laos, Russia, India or Korea?
The possibilities are endless and the only thing stopping you…is you.
There are a billion excuses to not do something. To take the easy way out, sit on the sidelines and watch.
Before I go on, be assured that i understand the idea of long term travel is not for everyone. A lot of people simple cant live a happy life unless they wipe there ass with expensive toilet paper or have 6 different pairs of shoes to choose from for the day. They may need to have clean finger nails and know exactly where they will be sleeping that night. With long term travel, those are not always going to be on your list of options. These sort of things that may push people away from the idea are also the same things that will bring people closer to the idea.
So decide for yourself, do you want to travel? Do you really want to see interesting new places?, meet new people with a different point of view?,learn and discover new things that you thought you would only see in a movie or magazine? or…do you want a vacation? Both are acceptable and one is not more right then the other. Its a personal choice, a desire that you may or may not have within you.
Where i come from,(Canada) though I think I can speak for the better part of North America as a whole. long term travel is something most people simple see as something they “wish they could do” a dream.
We are raised to fear the unknown. To believe appearance and monthly payments for outrageous things we don’t really need are what makes our lives happy.
We look at that 2 week vacation as one more thing to buy. An addition too the inventory of proof that we are happy. A picture gets hung on the wall of us standing in front of something beautiful…why? Aren’t you happy where you are? Is it to help remind us how happy life can be…in a dream? I personally love when i goto someones big ass house and see that picture on the wall and question where it was taken and an answer usually goes something like this. ” that was in Mexico, we had such a great 2 weeks, its so beautiful there and the people are so friendly, we really want to go back sometime!” Followed by a few of their favourite story’s from the trip. I get confused by that. If it made you so happy to be there why not go more often? Or sell that big ass house and move there? Well as usual a million excuses and reasons pop up usually ending with something about needing to win the lottery.
The number one excuse is usually money. With a few (what i consider) minor sacrifices, money can be earned and saved in 8 or 9 months (from low paying jobs) that can carry you for a year or even a lot more if you work while you travel. A lot of factors of course come into play.
Think of the country’s you intend to travel, research them and make a list of the absolute must do things. Know what its going to cost you and keep that in mind as you wander from destination to destination. That way you will never have to say “well i really wanted to do/see that but i cant afford it now” planing/budgeting for the major expenses of whatever travel plan you may be thinking of is essential.
Nothing in this world is free but we must Stop combining life experience with money. Thinking that we need to be lucky to travel. The more we think we need money to free us, the more imprisoned money makes us. We simple think we are to poor to be free to enjoy our lives the way we truly want to and I think…were meant to!
Now, without becoming a travel guide (though i think i could probably wrote a good one) I want to make it clear you can go to many interesting places all over the world for lengthy amounts of time. You just have to make the decision. Stop the wheels from spinning, get some traction and start making some miles!
If you can do all that with a guitar on your back then maybe ill bump into you some where and we can rock the fuck out!
Porter
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