It is absolutely fine if you’re the type to pose in front of famous tourist landscapes with your arms up while someone snaps a photo of you from behind. It is absolutely okay if you’re the type to lug around a journal with this quote on the cover:
“The world is a book, and those who don’t travel only read one page.” -St. Augustine
I get it. It’s pretty. It’s inspiring. It was spoken by a SAINT for crying out loud.
But it is simply not true. And if you really think about it, it’s actually offensive to many people around the world who do not feel, or live, this way.
Ironically, for a quote that is trying to promote adventure and open-mindedness, it is quite a narrow-minded view of the world and how people live in it.
For one thing, some people are just not able to backpack across the world. Not only because they don’t want to, or don’t have the financial means, but because it isn’t an option. With new and stricter immigration laws being put into place, many people across the country, and across the globe, are just not allowed to travel. They are forced to stay within their borders.
Also, not everyone finds quitting their day job to “find” themselves in east Asia appealing and…well, practical. There are mouths to feed. There are bills, bills, bills to pay. Not everyone finds sleeping on a suspicious mattress, or showering with a bucket exotic and liberating. Some people find being able to put a down payment on a house exhilarating. Or just being able to afford a fancy meal at a restaurant they always wanted to try.
But does this mean Lizzy who is currently trekking a mountain in Timbuktu is living a more fulfilled and fabulous life than Maggie who is working at her stable dream job so she can afford her car payments?
Absolutely not.
Can you live a fulfilled life having only been to one town over, or never even stepping foot on an airplane?
Absolutely yes.
See, everyone has their own definition of what it means to live life at its fullest. Happiness isn’t just a state we’re in when we’re doing something new – it’s a mindset. Something that is exercised. It might be better to work at being happy at both point A and point B, than to constantly itch to get out of point A.
If traveling is your passion, then that’s one thing, but we can also get so much out of life while staying at home. Make connections. Be present. Be kind.
That’s truly what life is all about.
And the beauty of it all is that you get to write it yourself.
So go, and live out your book the way you want to.