The Traveller

Some people have no desire to venture out of their city. Some people have no desire to venture out of their daily routines. And some people are stuck missing out on all of the amazing things life has in store for them on the other side of their front door. But occasionally you come a cross a person who only strives to see the entire world before they die. They dream of travelling to every nook and cranny that this world has to offer, and then searching for more once they have discovered them all.

 

These people are the travellers, the adventurers, the cultured human beings. They seek not to live in one corner of the world but to have bits of their soul to inhabit the places they have been, and the people that their lives have touched. Travellers are willing to encounter uncomfortable situations because they understand that life begins at the end of their comfort zone. They do not wait for life to come knocking on their door, telling them to get up and seize the day. They go out and search for life in good friends, new places, and excellent food.

 

Travellers are the old men sitting in desolate corners of the world sharing their tales of adventure and despair that seem so far fetched to be true. But they are, and when you come across this kind of traveller stop and listen because somewhere in his stories there are things that could change your world.

 

Travellers enter a country as complete strangers. But as the days go by, and life long connections are made the traveller will leave now as a friend, an ally, a native. That will undoubtedly come back one day, only to be a different person once again, wielding those stories of adventure.

 

And as the travellers turn old and grey they might settle down, or they might keep going. But to quote J.K. Rowling, "and then he greeted Death as an old friend, and went with him gladly, and, equals, they departed this life" knowing that they have made the most out of this one, and that death is simply another adventure.

 

Whoever once said that life begins at retirement is wrong. Life begins when you want it too. Life begins when you step past the front door, past your comfort zone, and past the part of the world that you called home. Life happens when you are a traveller.

Being Brave

I know a lot of people out there are probably not wasting their time reading my blog but I would hope that those who are, I am inspiring you to do something. Now this something doesn't mean to leave home for a year like myself, but it is to do something courageous in your everyday life.

I watched a film today called Eat Pray Love. In this movie Liz goes on a year long journey through Italy, India, and Bali, in order to find herself and create a balance in her life. Along the way she tastes good food, makes life-long friends, and falls in love. This movie represented everything that I wanted in my exchange.

I am leaving behind everything I know here in Canada and venturing forth into unknown teritories  without a clue of what I am getting myself into. I am leaving behind people that I may never see again, and best friends who I won't be as close to, and my family who has always been there for me no matter how crazy the circumstances. Most of all I am leaving behind who I once was, the person who I will never be again.

People ask me, "why exchange?"  My response is "Why not?" Through this experience I will see the world. Yes it may only be one corner of the world, but it is one corner of the world that is mine, that will be my home. I want to see what the world has in store for me, and by the time I die I want to have been to every nook and cranny that this wide world has to offer. I want to see everything, experience everything, find my passion and chase it. Travelling is my passion and by God I'm going to do everything in my power to follow that passion.

"If you're brave enough to leave behind everything familiar and comforting (which can be anything from your house to bitter, old resentments) and set out on a truth-seeking journey (either externally or internally) and if you are truly willing to regard everything that happens to you on that journey as a clue, and if accept everyone you meet along the way as a teacher, and if you are prepared, most of all, to face and forgive some very difficult realities about yourself, then the truth will not be withheld from you."

~ Eat Pray Love ~

Good God I hope I am brave enough.

~ Beth