Life On The Road Begins

Written on January 10, 2008 by Tezza

“…So get out there and mess around with your friends, ramble out yonder and explore the forests, encounter the grizz, climb the mountains. Run the rivers, breathe deep of that yet sweet and lucid air, sit quietly for a while and contemplate the precious stillness, that lovely, mysterious and awesome space. Enjoy yourselves, keep your brain in your head and your head firmly attached to your body, the body active and alive, and I promise you this much: I promise you this one sweet victory over our enemies, over those desk bound people with their hearts in a safe deposit box and their eyes hypnotized by desk calculators. I promise you this: you will outlive the bastards.” – Edward Abbey

The time has come for me to carve my own road and explore our little planet a bit. I’m off on the first leg of my world trip with the first stop being Hong Kong. All sense of normalcy and routine will be lost to me for the next six months replaced with a sense of the unknown, new experiences, new cultures and people. While I’ve been asked by friends for months whether I’m excited or looking forward to the trip it never really dawned on me until now that it is actually going to be a reality. At this juncture I am reminded of a passage in Ecclesiastes 3:1-8:

For everything there is a season,
And a time for every matter under heaven:
A time to be born, and a time to die;
A time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;
A time to kill, and a time to heal;
A time to break down, and a time to build up;
A time to weep, and a time to laugh;
A time to mourn, and a time to dance;
A time to throw away stones, and a time to gather stones together;
A time to embrace, And a time to refrain from embracing;
A time to seek, and a time to lose;
A time to keep, and a time to throw away;
A time to tear, and a time to sew;
A time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
A time to love, and a time to hate,
A time for war, and a time for peace.

It reminds me that there is a rhythmic ebb and flow to life. I time for growth and a time of contraction. So since making the conscious decision to take this trip back in January 2007, here is what I’ve learned about the whole process.

1. Don’t Over Plan Your Life

“Over planning a trip too tightly is not necessarily a good thing; you set up expectations of yourself that may not necessarily be met—and anything can happen on the road to alter it: the people you meet, the people you don’t meet, the things that you do, the things that happen to you. Perhaps travel can be a microcosm of Life itself; people make plans and set expectations of themselves—what they’ll be when they grow up, what type of person they’ll marry (if they do at all), where they’ll live, etc. But as we all know, reality is never so cookie-cut—as the saying goes, “Life is what happens in between the things that you planned on.” I don’t know where or when I first heard that, but it’s been one of the mottoes I’ve forever kept in my psyche—that, together with the immortal words of Indiana Jones, “I don’t know, I’m making this up as I go.” I’ve learned it’s best not to over plan your life; there should be room for the inevitable and unexpected twists—it’s natural to evolve and adapt to new environments, experiences and people.” - Erik Trinidad

I’ve always been an analytical type who plans and schedules everything. This trip has taught me that you don’t have to plan every micro detail for everything to be okay. I’ve learned to let go a bit, while those who ride by the seat of their pants and go with the flow types will still see me as a planner type, I’ve at least taken the first step of just trusting in the process and letting life unfold as it will. I’ve organized the tickets, gotten immunized, have my gear together and roughly know which countries I’ll be visiting but that’s about it. Other than the accommodation for my first stop the rest of my itinerary is going to be determined in real time day by day. This is a huge leap of faith for me but many other long term travelers have said that it is necessary as you can’t possible foresee and plan so far ahead.

2. Simplify Your Life
“As you simplify your life, the laws of the universe will be simpler; solitude will not be solitude, poverty will not be poverty, nor weakness weakness.” – Henry David Thoreau

Knowing that I was going to be spending upwards of half a year wandering the world with just a backpack it became quite obvious that accumulating stuff wasn’t all that important to me anymore. Thankfully, I’m not much of a shopper to begin with but during this period I became even more discerning about consumerism. If I had a thought to buy some new gadget or something I would think to myself what that would mean in relation to my trip. That gadget would represent a day sightseeing, or a wonderful meal or a nights accommodation. Simplifying my life to need and want less was not just an exercise in counter culture or anti-consumerism, it became a simple way for me to embrace what is more important to me and living with a new set of priorities.

3. Follow Your Dreams
“Dreams are illustrations… from the book your soul is writing about you.” – Marsha Norman

The greatest joy and freedom I have ever experienced was when I was living the life I chose rather than living life according to the spoken and unspoken expectations of others. While those who love you and hold you dear are always well meaning they are not always in a position to know what is truly in the best interest of you. Sometimes you need the courage to pursue your dreams in spite of all objections. Having said that, everyone in my life was very supportive with my decision to take time traveling and it taught me that following your dream no matter how idiotic the idea is at the time of creation, most people that matter to you will eventually come to your side of the fence and those that don’t, don’t matter. Happiness is the result of paying the price in following your heart and your dreams.

4. Be Grateful For Everything And Everyone
“When you are grateful fear disappears and abundance appears” – Anthony Robbins

In these last few weeks before leaving everything I hold near and dear to me I have never been more grateful for everything and everyone in my life. You can often not truly appreciate what you have been blessed with until the moment that you are facing it’s loss whether temporary or permanent. I have learned to live each day with more gratitude and try to be more present in every moment as if it is going to be my last. I’m also mindful that I have been lucky enough to even be in a position to travel for extended periods because many around the world will never get this opportunity. So I feel in some ways it is my responsibility to travel mindfully and respectfully, to appreciate each moment in a new place and to see the world with youthful eyes. For to squander this opportunity of travel frivolously would be a huge slap in the face to those who will never get this chance in their lifetime.

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