STRANGE TIMES
I know. Covid. War. Recession. Inflation. Depression.
I know.
These are strange times. It’s hard for me to think about how I want to launch a travel blog and talk about the one thing that is seemingly impossible at the moment. I know we are not in a lockdown anymore, but dam, we might as well be. I feel trapped sometimes. I can’t go here or there, too expensive, no flights, too many stops…might as well be 2020 all over again.
Truth is, our current economic state had me second guess being a nomad, let alone writing about my life. Our current economic state made me think that I need to find a place, call one country home and “that’s it”. The good life is over and I should call it quits.
But I can’t.
I am aware of our world. More aware than I have ever been in my life. Because I am traveling the globe in our current state, living in different countries whose economies are destroyed and having conversations with internationals with educated opinions, I am learning. I am evolving. I am changing.
I am trying.
I am trying to move on, go forward and carry on as I did prior to all of this. I cannot ignore my internal changes or the fact that I now see the world differently. The last few years have changed me to my core. I also cannot ignore my internal compass which has a strong, undeniable need to constantly point me forward. So what am I getting at? I have concluded that despite the ugly state our world is in, despite the war, the unfairness, the inflation, the recession, I simply must continue chasing my dreams. I simply must continue to travel the world and see it for all its glory and even its hideousness. It’s what I set out to do and it’s what I have committed myself to.
It turns out I am not just looking to “work remotely” while living in a cute beach town. It turns out that I am not just checking boxes or scratching a to do list. It turns out I am chasing a truth far bigger than I have ever imagined and that my curiosity is insatiable. I don’t just want to see the world through rose colored glasses anymore. I want to see the world for what it really is, through an authentic lens. This to me, is real travel. This is how I am designing my lifestyle.
So while we all got knocked on our asses, we have choices to make. We can let the darkness squash our visions, or we can thank these times for giving us some impeccable lessons and for showing us who we really are. We can “get back up” so to speak, but with a stronger, more stable set of legs. We can acknowledge that things are not the same and maybe will never be, but then harness that change into something powerful. Something huge for ourselves.
It’s so much easier said than done. We’ve all experienced dramatic losses that seem unrecoverable. They say time heals, but how much time will we need, exactly?
I say, take all the time in the world. Acknowledge your inner change and then use that change to recreate yourself. Don’t give up on your goals, your dreams or your passions, despite the world seemingly stacking up against you. Just be patient.
You deserve to win. So do I.
“Jobs fill your pockets, adventures fill your soul.”
