by Ralph
on July 21, 2013
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To regret the past is to forfeit the future.
~ Chinese Proverb
Getting older piles on the regrets
It is certainly a truism that the longer you live, the less future you have. Also you have more past and more possibilities that you have done things you regret. Hindsight is wonderful in showing you mistakes. In my past I acted (or didn’t act) based upon what I knew at the time. I did the best I could to use good judgment but looking back there is plenty that I could have done better. There are the things that I knew I should do but didn’t for one reason or another and there are the things about which I was clueless and took the wrong action. By now, at my advanced age those regrets start taking up a big part of my brain and eating into my diminishing future. [continue reading…]
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by Ralph
on July 21, 2013
Taking a long trip is nice but it sure messes up your momentum. We’ve been back for two weeks now. The jet lag has passed. The bills are paid. Getting back into focus though is harder. What is my prime directive?
Which way do I go?
The whole idea of one month travel is to break the routine and open your mind to new ideas and places. What suffers is any long term projects which are not completed when you leave. Interrupted projects are difficult to continue after such a long break. Even worse, the reason for the projects may lose importance. You come back eager to get back to work but find yourself with spinning wheels. I’m struggling to get traction two weeks after returning from Rome.
I intended to post a few times from Rome and initially created one about the four keys to our rented apartment. My thinking at the start of the trip was to post about aspects of the trip and respond to feedback from readers that they wanted to hear some trip feedback. My intentions were good but soon I found myself too busy seeing Rome to report. At least that was my justification. Rome is a very intense vacation venue.
Now that I’m back, my purpose is unclear. I still have two uncompleted lessons from Buenos Aires to post. I have not yet attempted to distill Lessons from Rome but some ideas are beginning to solidify. We have work to do on the next trip. We have locked in the schedule for our trip to Peru this December- a more complicated visit to five cities- which increases both costs and logistics. Finally we are beginning to research next Summer’s trip to Prague which will be a simple one venue trip like Rome. Planning these trips is not trivial. There are many details involved but it is not rocket science either. Once the lodgings are secured and the flights arranged, the details can work themselves out. Still it takes time to research the alternatives and a leap of faith to make a commitment. There are pluses and minuses with each alternative and in the end no way to know for sure which is best.
We are proven one month travelers. We don’t know everything. We probably could have done better on our trips but we learn more about travel and about ourselves with each trip. We broke out of our routine and decided to use our remaining healthy years to see the world. We figured out how to make it work with our resources. Finally, we just started. The start was the hardest decision. What I don’t know at this point is what I can do to help anyone who might want to follow our example. What is your sticking point? What holds you back? What I have learned is that we are all different and that what may be easy for me might be difficult for someone else- and vice versa.
If you have ever considered traveling for a month at a time and really getting to know another country or culture, how can I help you get started?
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