In 2017 we packed up our life, and quit the 9-5 to head out into the world. We came with no expectations, we only wanted to experience life. Since we have left, we have packed more fun and adventure into our lives than we ever could have imagined. Being on the road now for over a year, has brought with it the freedom to explore what it is that we want to do to create an income for ourselves, the time to pay attention to the things that are truly important to us, and the adventure to truly make life fun and interesting once again. We left seeking an exciting life, and we have not been disappointed! Join us as we explore as much of this big old world that we can!
As I lay in bed last night, in a moment of some unrest, I had a thought run through my mind, for some reason, about what I would say if the first person that we housesat for in Costa Rica, asked us to do it again.
As stated, Costa Rica, was the first place that we travelled to upon starting this journey. We had a housesitting job on an incredible 12 km stretch of uninterrupted, sunset facing, perfect beach, for 2 months. We then got a job managing a cabina rental, 2 houses down for another 2.5 months. We spent enough time there to really get a feel for the neighbourhood. We had a routine, we had a lifestyle that we had created for ourselves.
The warmth that I got when I thought of doing that, was immediate. I thought to myself, sure we could do that. Wouldn’t that be nice, heading back to a place we already know. I didn’t think too much more about it, then drifted off to sleep.
Today, Chris and I were on our usual perch after our day of work at the garden, drinking coffee, hanging out with the Dog and cats, and watching the sunset, when I mentioned that thought. His immediate reaction was that he would go back just for a visit, but not to stay.
Huh, I thought. In my mind, I was just starting to formulate a discussion point. I was going to ask why he wouldn’t want to live there again, and then I caught myself. I realized in that instant that I was being pulled back to that place somehow. Something about that place had its grip on me. What was it, what was making me want to go back? Of course, being the over analyzer that I am, I was now determined to figure out what.
After pondering it for a few minutes, I realized that I was being pulled back by the familiarity. Not only is it a beautiful place, and really, why wouldn’t I want to go back? I was being pulled back by the ‘knowing’ of what to expect. We would know the veggie truck guy, the neighbours, and the neighbourhood. We would know everything about the place!
How nice would that be?
How EASY would that be?
How convenient that would be?
BUT WAIT JUST A MINUTE!!!
How mundane would that be?
How BORING would that be?
How same old, same old would that be?
For gods sake!
Thank GOD I caught myself!
Immediately after realizing that I was thinking this way, Chris and I got into a conversation about what would seem to be, comfort zones. We started philosophically trying to figure out EXACTLY what does generally pull us humans back to places and situations that we are familiar and comfortable with? And while my focus for this deep dive is on travelling to the same places, this theory could also pertain to returning to your favourite restaurants, to camping in the same campgrounds, to repeating holiday destinations, to shopping in stores that we know, or getting our haircut by hairdressers that we trust. The list could literally go on and on.
Is it laziness?
Are we too lazy to want to learn new things, make new friends, figure out all the ins and outs of a new place? Maybe we are tired, and we need to rest? Going somewhere familiar is less work, and easier. Going somewhere familiar requires less thinking.
Is it to feel safe?
Do we just feel safer going somewhere where we know everything? Maybe there is a personal security on some level with staying in known territory that makes you feel safe. Maybe we are scared that a new place won’t offer the same security that we have had previously.
Is it fear of uncertainty?
Do we continue to go back to familiar places because we are scared of what we don’t know? “What if the new place I go is terrible?” you may ask yourself. What if we get robbed in the new place? What if people aren’t nice in the new place? What if we don’t make friends in the new place?
IS it for the love of the place?
Do you want to go back just because it is beautiful and you love it and miss it? Or is it because you have friends there and you want to see them again?
There are many different reasons for wanting to return to the same place, but the straight up fact is, that if you constantly “go back”, you will get stuck. You will stay in a familiar routine of travelling from point A to point B to always stay in the same places, and all of a sudden, there you are, back on the mundane circuit of life. Back into some sort of routine, a routine that does not challenge you, a routine that allows your brain to almost just turn off because your body just knows what to do.
For us, going back to places where we have already been, means that we are taking time away from exploring a NEW place. We really do want to see as much as we possibly can of this planet in our lives, and by wasting time in familiar places, we take away from that potential.
But beyond just wanting to SEE new places, we also need to consider that no matter what “be all, end all” places we think we have seen, there is always MORE out there! There is ALWAYS the potential for a better place. And while I don’t think the ultimate goal is to find THE BEST place (because let’s just face it, EVERY place has it’s own awesomeness of some sort) the goal is to EXPERIENCE as much as possible.
I think it is within the familiar, that we lose the chance to have an interesting experience. When we constantly repeat our experiences, we don’t grow. We don’t change as human beings, we don’t learn anything new, we don’t try to broaden our understanding of things, we just exist. Our brains get stuck in that place, and life begins to be a big blur of sameness, one day passing in front of the other, blending into each other. Weeks, months and years can go by, and you may hardly have noticed. You will not have those breaks, those experiences, those stories about when you learnt something new, or that time you saw the coolest waterfall that you had ever seen, for example.
When your life is so steeped in routine, that you know exactly what you will be doing each day, you know exactly where you will go for holidays each year, or you know exactly what night you eat pizza on every week, it is in dangerous territory. This sort of life is not challenging yourself. You are unconsciously not opening yourself up to new opportunities in order to change your perspective. You stop learning new things, your stop reaching for higher potentials. A life like this is stagnant.
It is only in those opportunities where we do something different, or outside of our norm that we have the chance to grow and change. It can be meeting a new person, or seeing a new place. Maybe we are trying a new flavour, or smelling a new flower. THIS is when we open ourselves up to learning something new, to perhaps realizing a new way of thinking. It is in those opportunities when your life gets a little lift, when a smile might cross your face, and when you will feel the most ALIVE!
In less than a month, we are, however, heading back to a lot of familiar territory, but just for some VISITS! First, we head back to Flores, Guatemala, where we lived on and off for almost 5 months last year. We need to do this because we left some things there, before flying to the Caribbean, and we need to pick them up from our friend who has graciously been keeping them for us.
But we REALLY are excited to head back to Flores. We made some great friends there when we lived there, and we really want to check back in with everyone, just to see what’s up. There is definitely the warm fuzzy feeling of knowing what to expect, knowing who we will see, knowing where we can eat, knowing what the costs are, etc, so we are happy that we have this ‘excuse’ to return, as it will give us the chance to see everyone, and to feed our little familiarity needs. Plus we are going to get tons of hugs, which will be awesome!
After that, we are headed back to Canada, and to my hometown of Canmore for likely a couple of months. (More hugs!) We will be doing some work there, visiting family, filing our taxes (eek!), and helping my parents to start downsizing some of their stuff so that they can sell their house. As far as familiarity goes, well you know the old saying “There is no place like home.” I will admit that I am excited to cross that Canadian border, to re enter my home country, to be in a place where I pretty much know exactly what is going on! No more guessing how to do anything, no more wondering what is around every corner. Even I am happy to have a break from the constance of new experiences………once in a while!
And while I do know that we could be spending our time, instead, seeing something new, going home is an important part of this journey for us. Checking in with our families, visiting the people that are important to us, and just touching base with our past, I think, is important to maintain a grounded global perspective. It is very easy to have our perspectives narrowed by the places we are in, and while I do think it is important to learn about and experience different cultures, it is also important to remember where we are from, to remember our OWN culture. Parts of it we may disagree with, parts of it we may love, but it is THAT place that helped shaped who we are as people. It is our experiences in the places that we all grew up in, that have had a huge part in making all of us who we are today.
But, after that? Who really knows. We have some skeleton plans forming, but you know us! We really don’t like to plan too much! Some sort of interesting opportunity may pop up, and before you know it, we will be off on some sort of brand new adventure!
Thanks for reading! Please know that above all else, I aim to inspire others to just get out and see the world. Traveling is such an enriching experience, and I can’t even comprehend how much it has shaped me as an individual. If you have ANY questions, or need travel advice of ANY kind, PLEASE don’t hesitate to email me at the address below! I will do my very best to help you in any way I can!
Xoxoxo Happy Travels!
Current Location: Nevis Island, St. Kitts & Nevis
Travelling Plans: On August 5th we will start our long journey back to Canada to visit family and friends for a couple months.
To head back to the beginning of our journey, and the moment we decided to sell all of our possessions to travel the world, click here.
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Just Some Wandering 