The Privilege of Travel

The privilege of travel is reserved for the few, with the many missing out due to circumstances beyond their control.

I am one of the privileged. One of those that can say he spent the summer travelling for his honeymoon and learned a great deal from it.

Happiness Comes From Within

It is beyond cliche to say that happiness cannot be purchased (no matter what those internet ads tell you). It comes from those around you and from inside you.

As an example of money not buying happiness, I found that before my honeymoon I was wildly purchasing items on Amazon, only to leave them unopened for days.

They meant very little and half of them usually ended up sold, whereas seeing my wife at the end of a long day brings a smile to my face.

Happiness is marketed to us, yet despite the different conditions that nations around the world find themselves in, there is always a happiness to be found.

Whether it is in the smallest action of a comforting hug during a conflict, a bunch of flowers for someone's grieving or an impromptu game of football. The pursuit of happiness is human in nature and cannot be purchased.

Not Being Able to Drink From the Tap

We found that in a couple of countries that we travelled to we were unable to drink from the tap, the currencies were overinflated and road conditions were awful.

They were great to visit but you could not get away from feeling bad. To see such varying levels of poverty, yet I could not say they were unhappy.

Many had makeshift roofs over their heads and little in the way of television but we could see the smiles. As they saw their children, had dinner with friends or went about their jobs. No complaints, no desire for the next Amazon package, nothing but contentment.

We were unable to drink from the tap (something that I used to take for granted) and needed to buy bottled water. Something that was frustrating, yet was little more than a fact of life there. Every bit as much as the angry commuter, it was part and parcel of the daily routine.

There was no anger or frustration, just the mere desire to continue. To see loved ones and have a good life and it was humbling. Lovely to see but ultimately, humbling from a man purchasing hundreds of pounds of goods he does not need every month.

Broaden Your Horizons

Again, another cliche but one that is truly poignant when it comes to travel. Here in the United Kingdom, we can drink from the tap, our roads are broadly speaking in good repair and we have access to free medical care. The same cannot be said for other nations but that does not stop us from being ungrateful, grumpy even and that is where travel is useful.

To experience a different country. To gain an understanding of how different people live their lives and adapt you can appreciate what you do have. Something that I did before to an extent but now I am unwaveringly grateful. I don't need to purchase something every day to be happy.

I have an amazing life in London to be grateful for and that is more than enough. A fun job, a beautiful wife and hopefully all the time in the world to start a family.

I will not be remembered for the number of Pokémon cards I own but I will be remembered for the type of father, husband and friend I was. This is what is important and when you see people with a makeshift roof over their heads happy, you realise how ungrateful you may have been.

A Break From Life

Life is stressful. There is no getting away from that today, with the tech available at our fingertips to interrupt every five minutes. We have more distractions than ever before and most of the time we don't realise it.

We are simply trying to survive the day by day and don't realise that we barely give ourselves a minute each day. I am not completely obsessed but I recognise the draw that tech has.

Constantly wondering what I can learn or achieve next when what I should be doing is turning my phone off and giving my brain a rest. Something that I have instituted post-holiday.

After I meet my wife at 6:30 pm my phone is switched off, left to the side, only to be thought of the next day and I have to say it's nice. Nice to have a rest and not think, about what I need to do next. To not be distracted by countless notifications, half of which mean little.

Taking a break in the form of a holiday is something that we should all be able to do as we are not robots. We need time to think and contemplate everything that has happened to us as there are far too many distractions and reasons to stay awake in 2022. It is a constant bombardment of temptation and I am happy to say that I was able to take time off from the day-to-day grind in order to spend time with my wife.

A Final Thought

Travel is something that we should all have access to. The chance to see other countries and lives beyond our own to ensure that we do not fall into complacency and appreciate the lives for which we are given. Notifications can be silenced and Amazon can wait but our relationships cannot, lest you wake up one day and you realise that your relationship is no more, you wasted the time by which you were provided.

I will never cease being grateful for having the time to travel. To my employer for being gracious enough to employ me despite the long holiday, I had planned. For my friends and family, for the contributions that were made to our honeymoon fund and to everyone that we met across Europe, Asia and Australia.

Coming back home I truly realise how lucky I am. Yes, there are hundreds of problems in the United Kingdom but we do still have a lot to be grateful for such as being able to drink from the tap, have free healthcare and having a public transport system that is actually, rather robust.

It's not perfect but seeing how many millions live in other countries does make you grateful and also appreciate that just because you have more does not mean that you are happy.