The Opportunity to Travel

Few people have the chance to travel, while many others can’t because of things out of their control.

Satisfaction Comes From the Inside

It’s so overused to say that you can’t buy happiness (no matter what those internet ads tell you). It comes from inside you and from the people around you.

As an example of how money can’t buy happiness, I bought a lot of things on Amazon before my honeymoon, but I didn’t open them for days.

They didn’t mean much, and usually half of them were sold, but seeing my wife at the end of a long day makes me happy.

People try to sell us happiness, but no matter what kind of situation a country is in, there is always happiness to be found.

Even the smallest things, like a hug during a fight, a bouquet of flowers for someone who is sad, or a game of football on the spot, can make a big difference. Happiness is something everyone wants and can’t be bought.

When you can’t drink from the tap

We found that in some of the countries we visited, we couldn’t drink from the tap, the money was worth too much, and the roads were terrible.

They were fun to visit, but you couldn’t help but feel bad when you were there. I saw so many different levels of poverty, but I couldn’t say that the people were sad.

Many of them had makeshift roofs over their heads and not much TV, but we could see the smiles on their faces. As they spent time with their kids, ate dinner with friends, or did their jobs. No complaints, no longing for the next Amazon package, just happiness.

We couldn’t drink from the tap, which was something I used to do all the time, so we had to buy bottled water. There was something that was annoying, but it was just a part of life there. It was part of the daily routine just as much as the angry commuter.

There was neither anger nor frustration, just a desire to go on. It was humbling to see family and have a good life. The fact that he spends hundreds of pounds every month on things he doesn’t need is nice to see, but it’s also humbling.

Become more open-minded.

Again, this is a cliche, but it’s true when it comes to travelling. In the United Kingdom, we can drink water straight from the tap, most of the roads are in good shape, and medical care is free. We can’t say the same about other countries, but that doesn’t stop us from being ungrateful or even grumpy, which is why travel is helpful.

To see how life is in another country. You can appreciate what you have more if you know how other people live and how they adapt. Something I did a little bit before, but now I’m always thankful. I’m not happy if I have to buy something every day.

I’m thankful for my amazing life in London, and that’s more than enough. A fun job, a pretty wife, and hopefully lots of time to start a family.

I won’t be remembered for how many Pokémon cards I have, but for how good of a dad, husband, and friend I was. This is what matters, and when you see happy people with a makeshift roof over their heads, you realise how ungrateful you may have been.

A Break From Life

Life can be hard. We can’t avoid it now that we have technology at our fingertips that lets us interrupt every five minutes. We have more things to do than ever before, and most of the time we don’t even realise it.

We’re just trying to get through each day, and we don’t even realise that we don’t give ourselves much time each day. I’m not crazy about tech, but I can see why it’s appealing.

I’m always thinking about what I can learn or do next when I should just turn off my phone and give my brain a break. Something I started after the holidays.

After I meet my wife at 6:30 pm, I turn off my phone and set it aside. I don’t think about it again until the next day, which is nice. It feels good to take a break and not think about what I have to do next. To not be bothered by a lot of notifications, most of which don’t mean much.

We are not robots, so we should all be able to take a break in the form of a vacation. There are too many distractions and things to do to keep us awake, so we need time to think about everything that has happened to us. It’s hard to resist all the temptations, but I’m glad I was able to take a break from the daily grind to spend time with my wife.

One Last Thought

Everyone should have the chance to go places. the chance to see other countries and ways of life besides our own, so that we don’t get too used to our own and can appreciate what we have. You can turn off notifications and make Amazon wait, but you can’t do that with your relationships. If you do, you might wake up one day and realize that your relationship is over because you wasted the time you were given.

I will always be thankful that I have time to travel. To my boss for being kind enough to hire me even though I had planned a long trip. For my friends and family, for the money given to our honeymoon fund, and for everyone we met in Europe, Asia, and Australia.

When I get back home, I see how lucky I am. like being able to drink water straight from the tap, getting free health care, and having a pretty good public transportation system.

It’s not perfect, but seeing how many people live in other countries makes you appreciate what you have and realise that having more doesn’t mean you’re happier.