Wanderlust.

Everyday I plan a trip, work on the details of a trip, or think about where the next trip should be to.

I have always had the wanderlust. The more income I had, the farther and more often I traveled. When I was in high school, I used to look at a picture of the ocean on the wall. I couldn't wait to go there. The day I turned 21, I was loading a u haul to move there. Any ocean would have done, I just ended up on Galveston Island, Texas.

Ever since then, I have worked so I have the money to travel. I am self employed so I have the time to travel. I have employees, so my business continues while I travel. I have a housesitter, so my pets are cared for while I travel. 

I often contemplate living a simpler lifestyle and just traveling. Sell off lots of stuff, rent a small place, and travel. It still may be in my future.....who knows. It is a constant discussion in my head.

One of my biggest motivating factors is aging. I have seen so many people who put off traveling and all of a sudden  they are sick or old, or both, and it is over. The opportunity is gone. 

I decided that I would not be that person. If I had to stop today, my regrets over missed places would be few. 

I am not too particular about where I go. Anyplace new is good. I do have a list that I am working my way through. The problem is that the list changes all of the time! World conditions change. Places I wanted to see are now off the list due do to the violent nature of the situations in those countries.

 I have become efficient at traveling. I have a wardrobe devoted to it. I have packing lists. The suitcases are updated on a regular basis.I have frequent flier miles. I play the points game with the hotels, etc. I plan, but I have learned to roll with the unexpected!!!

I come back from a trip, tired, and knowing that I am done traveling for awhile. In a day or two, I am planning the next trip, or getting ready for it. I plan trips years in advance. I take trips on the spur of the moment. My traveling companions change. 

 Traveling with others is either easy or it is not. There is no middle ground. We have friends that we can go anywhere with, and it is easy. We have traveled with friends that are really challenging. Sometimes, you take the challenge, for the destination!

I like to "power tour". I want to see as much as possible in the time I have. I like adventure. Zip lines, boat rides, helicopter rides, train rides, and tours. I am not one to lay around or sit around in a new place.

 Vacations are different. I go to the same place, do the same things. Read books. Nap. That is not "traveling".

I tried to give my children a good mix of traveling and vacations. They both went to Europe twice when they were in high school. 

I am currently on a domestic travel kick. Even as I say that, I am planning to leave the country three times this year!!!!

Where does the wanderlust come from? Is it genetic? Is it curiosity?

I do know that travel is life changing and addicting. Meeting people from other places, seeing other ways of living, eating new and different food, using all kinds of different transportation, and dealing with many many unusual situations! We have gotten on the wrong train in lots of different countries!!!
Everyday I am grateful for the opportunities that I have been given in this life. Traveling is one of them. My traveling companions are another. It is a blessing to have friends and family that enjoy going with you. 

I don't know when my traveling days will end. I do know that it will be too soon!

Let Go Let God

Is the world really getting harder to live in? Are the "times" harder than before? Am I just aging and everything feels harder? 

  In the last couple of weeks, I have had two family members hospitalized. One, a parent, was made ill by bad medicine. One, a sibling, was saved by good medicine. 

  I felt a major amount of stress in both cases. I felt stress because I am 1600 miles away. I know that realistically I could do the same thing here, as there, but I just felt far away. Say a prayer, call, be available. That does not change, wherever you are.

 I am doing double duty at my job right now. More stress. It is not that I can't do it, it is just that I don't want to do the extra work.

 My friend calls me today. She has out stressed me. Her father is dying. Her daughter and son in law got put in jail today, and another son just had a baby. She wins. 

 What to do with all of this energy swirling around me?  I exercise. I walk. I lift weights. I eat. I don't sleep. 

I am trying to understand the nature of  stress. Is it just lack of control? I feel out of control in any given situation, so I call it stress and I react mentally and physically? Will my feelings change the situation? Will the situation change my feelings? Where do I drop emotions and just be? When do I just let go?

   Do I change anything by allowing myself to feel the stress? What if I ignore those feelings? Will they come back to bite me in some new and awful way? Or will they just go away?  Is life just one big reaction to everyone and everything that happens? 

What if I just stop reacting. Will that remove the stress? What if I just try to live in the moment? 

   I was taught the essence of being is Let Go Let God. I think I struggle with that concept daily. Let go of everything???? Let God do what????"?

 The concept of "living for now" is very popular in New Age circles and Eastern religion. In theory, I love it. In reality, I struggle. Do I ignore the future? If I think about the future, will it stress me? If I don't think about it, will it stress me? If I don't plan, will everything be good? 

 I understand the not living in the past thing. No good can come out of rehashing old wrongs and hurts. Some of them just need to stay buried. Forgiveness comes into play here, but that is another whole blog!

 I think silence helps shed stress. I think being alone helps. I think exercise helps. I think hard work helps. I think sharing with a friend helps. I think the ocean helps.

I know that sometimes, nothing helps. You just have to endure.