Self-imposed grounding and not being a ‘travel douchebag’. The challenge is real.

I am a traveller. But what does that mean? Oddly I am discovering exactly what it means during a period of my life where growing a business, studying a course and a couple of other factors make travel impractical until, at least, early next year. 

For the first time since the pandemic lockdowns I don’t actually have a trip solidly in planning or, better yet, a plane ticket booked to somewhere like a carrot at the end of the proverbial stick to hasten my steps through the more mundane aspects of my day-to-day life. Yes, this is a self-imposed grounding, supposedly so I can focus on other priorities, but I find myself plodding.. my feet so itchy I feel the need to scratch and motivation is hard to come by without the anticipation of being elsewhere. And anticipation, although important, is but a small part of the equation. 

I am, quite simply, someone who thrives from spending time in far-flung places that are so very different to my home. Places where all five senses are bombarded with ‘different’, where the people are different, where my experience of otherness makes me different and every day comes with the promise of adventure. It fills my soul in a way I can’t fully explain and when I return I am brimming with enough new inspiration and ideas to keep me going.. for a few months, at least. 

Just to be clear, although comfortable, I am not super-wealthy. At least not by Sydney standards. I have been able to afford to travel regularly over the last decade because I have prioritised it. I drive a cheap older car and my fridge and microwave are sorely in need of updating, but when I think of the cost of replacing these items my brain automatically calculates the expense in ‘travel’ and I am suddenly reluctant to part with my hard-earned cash on things so mundane. 

To me, the latest gadgets are only stuff whereas travel is an experience and as experiences go it is the one that has given me so much. Sure, I can carry on about personal growth and resilience here.. and yes, travel has supported my development of those things… but the many perspective shifting experiences I have had (good and bad) have integrated into the bedrock of who I am and the desire for more borders on insatiable. Of course, the irony here is that in being literally grounded I am feeling slightly off-kilter - not particularly grounded in the more spiritual sense of the word. It's as if I am repressing a core part of my identity and being confronted with a stretch of staying put is no easy feat for me. 

I find myself preoccupied with thoughts of other places far too often - places I have been and places I wish to go. I have to be careful of not being irritating company as I have a tendency to talk too much about what is on my mind and the last thing I want to be is a name dropper of countries. There is also the fact that when so many of my transformative experiences have happened in other places telling a story without giving the context can be tricky. In my mind travel has become normalised - it is just something I do - but unless I want to become an even more annoying person than I already am, I should be careful not to operate under the assumption that it is something that everyone does. Travel has been a major part of my own journey to wellness, but everyone’s journey is different. 

So, how to get through the next eight months without the frustration of my self-imposed grounding being translating tiresome travel talk? To be honest, I may crack. In fact it will only take finding a small two week window for me to crack. But if I don’t find that window? Well, I guess I’ll just have to buy a new fridge. And yes. I will be grateful for it. 

Clare

xxx