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!
I spent some long overdue time this morning cleaning out my wallet and other storage vessels of receipts, airline tickets, and other paper items that I have been lugging around and obviously don’t need anymore.
At first I was just taking glances of what was there and throwing it in a pile, but as I went through them, things started to catch my eye.
The first few I grabbed were ferry receipts from the time we finally had sold all of our things, and left our small, ferry access only, town in Canada (yes, I RARELY clean out my wallet!), they were from September 2017. Next came the odd receipt from a restaurant in Costa Rica. Then came the receipt for Chris’ cell phone that we had to purchase in Costa Rica, it’s 1 year guarantee had expired, plus I don’t think we would be going back there to get a new one anyways.
More receipts, more receipts, next was a few from Guatemala. One that stood out to me was one of our water bills that we had to pay for the house we were renting in Guatemala. It struck me as something that was significant. Suddenly I realized that my wallet was a bit of a timeline of things we had done in the last 20 months, a collage of not only things we experienced, but of things we had had to figure out.
Each and every place we have travelled to, we have had to figure out the ins and outs of how to do things. Whether it is getting a new sim card so that we can have a local phone number, to finding out how to pay our water bill, to learning that we need to have a LOCAL driver’s license (which is the case now) to legally be allowed to drive in a certain country. Every place has it’s ins and outs, and every place has mysteries to solve.
I realized that these things were never something that we had worried about before we got to each place we went. They were all things that just sort of popped up once we got to a place, and as people generally tend to do, we problem solved, and figured it all out as we went along.
I think, in general, people spend a lot, like a lot A LOT of time, worrying about the ‘what if’s’ or the ‘how to’s’. I see post after post on some of the nomad forums that I am a part of with people asking tons of questions about a certain place that they are going to. They want to know all the details about a place, before they even get there. Of course, some things are legit, like whether or not you can bring in certain medications, or how complicated it is to bring a pet or an animal into a country. But much of it is simple and mundane things that really aren’t that big of a deal, and will easily be figured out upon arrival.
How many of us get so stuck on the details, that we get frozen in place? How many of us wonder so much about the little things, that the big thing is forgotten about entirely? I think it’s important for each of us to realize that worrying about the little details, is impacting how we live our lives, and how we move forward in general. This isn’t specific to travel, this can be about anything.
Anything that is worried about in the future, is taking away from our time now. You are wasting your precious time here on Earth, and are thinking about something that you literally have no control over anyways. EVERYTHING in the future is unpredictable. ANYTHING can happen at any time! Doesn’t it just make sense to live life in the moment, take in all that we can TODAY? Is tomorrow a guarantee? I don’t think so!
If you are stuck on some details about the future right now, I encourage you to take a step back. Consider what is in your power in THIS MOMENT, take action on those things, and figure the rest out when it comes.
Living like this, has enriched my life beyond words. Living like this makes me appreciate my day to day existence by making me more open and aware of my surroundings. I have power in the knowing that I am making conscious decisions about how I want my life to look. And I’m not talking about how it’s going to look in the future, I’m talking about the actions that I take each day, that will shape my future.
We will all get to where we are going, step by step, one day at a time. Do the best you can in each moment, because, at the end of the day, it is all that you really have control over anyways.
And of course, we will NEVER figure it ALL out! So please, stop trying to:)
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: We have committed to being here until mid-August. After that we plan to head back to Canada for a visit, before returning to Guatemala to host our art retreat.
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 