Getting Bitten

The strong yearn to travel courses through my veins...similar to being a victim of malaria, who tends to relapse periodically, but gets jarred back into the reality of our seemingly mundane life full of responsibilities and expectations. Such is life as we call it, but if you truly have the passion to travel, you will somehow make certain adjustments and compromises in order to make it happen!

Those who have the good fortune of being bitten by the Travel Bug knows exactly what I'm talking about. The more you travel and learn about the world around you, the more insatiable your quest becomes to see more of our little blue planet. At the last count, we have 195 officially recognized flags wavering in the wind all around the world. I've been fortunate to proverbially wave 32 of them thus far on 6 continents...yet I feel I'm falling behind as my relapse from the Travel Bug had not occurred frequent enough.

Why travel? The reasons (excuses) are endless: costs too much, it's dangerous, too overwhelming to plan, can't speak their language, what if something bad happens?  Really?  I understand and appreciate the fact that not everyone has the same passion to see the world, I get it!  I have seen movies and TV shows about the undersea world all of my life and do appreciate how amazing it looks down there.  But it wasn't till my late twenties when I became a certified diver and experienced the wonders first hand. It was such an astounding paradigm shift to finally truly appreciate the grandeur of the deep, and trying to explain to non-divers was similar to coercing non-travelers to travel!

To me, traveling is a conscious act to allow oneself to be in a strange, different, delightful, and sometimes uncomfortable environment.  We tend to open ourselves up and feel a bit vulnerable as we are outside of our familiar element.  But that's also the wonder, bliss and joy about the adventures and experinece we garner once we embark on our travels!  Just realize the fact that things will always go wrong but it's how we react, handle, and overcome the obstacles along the way. Think of it as Life-Training!  We plan the crap out of our lives and many things happen to our dismay and disbelief but how we cope and deal with it makes us all the stronger...much like traveling. So stop making your excuses and start packing your bags! Get ready to be bitten and embrace the sweetness of what traveling will add to your otherwise mundane life!