Reflections on 100 Days of Solo Travel
Protection, Time, and Help
What have I learned in this time of travel, and what do I see in this time of reflection?
I might be able to break the lessons learned in that travel into three ideas, protection, time, and help.
This is protection, a hold onto everything precious that requires the power of recognition to see something wonderful has been found. It is a way of living differently because you changed by living through something. For myself, I protect my enthusiasm for life. One must remember we are always having a life, and this is a special thing.
I learned the value of having space to realize and feel your life. There, I was temporarily cut from “normal life” of things like deadlines, “life-decisions,” or jobs. I was free for 100 days. Having held that moment in my life, it is now clear I haven’t forgotten that breath. It is something I use to make decisions in my life: what of this decision will grant me the most space to have joy, pursuit, and love for the world.
Asking for help was practice. I needed to ask for help with finding places to sleep at night, practicing languages for my exams, or just meeting people. Even navigating a city. It was a forced break from my usual “do it myself” mentality. I would describe it as a reframing of how I saw my abilities. Independence is a powerful thing until the point that you are drowning. We would do well to support each other towards independence and look for ways to help others and ourselves in that process.
More soon,
Trevor