It is amazing how many times people have told me that I must be used to saying goodbye because of the fact that I travel, and therefore do a great deal it. To those of you who are curious, it never gets easier, at all, and that is something which I have just had to learn to deal with.
This lends itself perfectly to a concept which I have been thinking about recently when it comes to travel, and that is the fact that this is not continuous, even for us, on a never-ending voyage around the world, but rather it is a constant series of endings and beginnings.
Chapters
I only really made this realization of late, understanding the key to these chapters which travel throws at you , and weirdly I kind of don’t see most of them until afterwards. Sure when you have spent 6 months in Romania, made friends and laid temporary roots, then moving off to Switzerland is very clearly a new chapter, but there are many more which are nowhere near as obvious. These can be trends, or cycles, or feelings even, fear being the perfect example.
I am now way more fearful of some things than I used to be in the past and I am far less fearful of things that I used to be scared of in the past. Now some of this is through learning and trying things, some of it is because kids come along and change the way in which you perceive things, all of which involves this delightful and complex end and new beginning concept, the life and death of a feeling if you will.
Lifestyle
I think that those who travel deal with this far more than those who stay in their bubble of security at home, and I do not say this to be disparaging. When you travel you are exposed to more that reinforces or opposes your view on so many things, we see things up close and personal rather than on a news program, and that forces a lot more changing beliefs and opinions.
Ultimately this is a concept which actually gives me a great deal of heart, it’s that ‘turn the page’ mentality which I love. There is always an end, but another story follows, and that is what I say to people when they ask me if saying goodbye ever becomes normal.
