Leaving The Jonses Behind

Nomadic Lifestyle, Travel

In July Nomadic Matt sponsored a travel writing contest with the topic of “what does travel mean to you”. Of course I intended on entering…he had some sweet prizes, but procrastination got the better of me and I never got around to writing anything for the contest. Looking back though, I wonder what the root cause of my own procrastination was. Maybe I haven’t given enough thought to what travel means to me. Travel is great for all of the canned reasons that are often given. Exploring new places, learning about the world around you and my favorite benefit of travel is that through learning about other people and their culture I learn even more about myself. I have broken down more of my own stereotypes and become so much more tolerant. I have also severed old friendships due to the narrow-mindedness and resultant hatred that these old friends posses. I’ve grown as a human. But that really doesn’t answer the question of what travel means to me.

I really think what travel means to me is the avoidance of becoming something I once was. Actually, I was never that person, I only wore his suit for several years and I never want to wear it again. I was caught up in a lie, seduced by the siren song of shiny new things, some unseen force that fuels the construction of tract housing and keeps the living dead encased in metal tombs between their home and their job.

Before I discovered the wonders of overseas contract jobs I had previously left two jobs under the auspices of a “leave of absence”. The me that I have realized I am doesn’t have to do this anymore because my job is now more of a casual thing – I work when I need money, I relax and enjoy life for long periods of time.

Maybe I can sum it up best by sharing this picture. I would be fine with this vase in a hotel room or the living room of someone I was visiting, but to actually own something like this and display it in my living space is one of the most hideous things I could ever imagine. Over the course of the past 5+ years I have only signed one lease, it was for six months, and I bailed after four. I’m on my longest stretch of employment and residence, but preparing for an equally long stretch of unemployment. I have plans to “settle” in to places for not longer than four months at a time and I really think that the desire to avoid situations where I feel some decorative vase is an enhancement to my life is what keeps me moving.

I guess in summary what travel means to me is a way to collect experiences and knowledge. Travel and the experiences that I gather are much more important to me than any material goods. These experiences and memories can’t be stored or displayed in a vase in the living room. Traveling is about nurturing these memories, building on past experience. Enhancing my life and my condition with actions and deeds rather than by building a spiritually empty temple to worship plastic crap in.

Will @ September 1, 2008