The very first time…
I’ve written a poem about this was in the year 2007. I’m not sure what’s worse i.e. feeling the pain when you’re alive or feeling the pain when someone is gone. The two people feeling it the most are unlikely to die at the same time.
So, what am I on about? Read on till the end…
So here you are, you made the decision to go travelling. You’re going as a backpacker, perhaps you’re going to work temporarily in another country, perhaps you’re leaving home to study in another country.
You’re leaving home that very first time. Some are impacted by it the most while others not so much. It sometimes feels like you will never return, and quite frankly if you’re away from home for a long time the truth is you won’t be the same person that left when you return.
When you’re feeling very emotional on the first trip then something is about to transform about you even though you might not think so. Your mind is going to expand and saying goodbye can also mean saying goodbye to some part of you that is leaving to become the greater you.
Once this part it over get ready for the journey. The journey is not only physical it is emotional and mental. Yes, mental depending the speed you’re going at too and how you decide to flow with it.
Saying goodbye
Now that you’ve faced your first set of challenges head on you find yourself independent and self-reliant. You meet like minded individuals like yourself and you enjoy travelling. I remember the time when I met my group of friends (mainly Italians) who came to Madrid on Erasmus. As the time came close to finishing their year in Madrid they wondered about the people they’ve really got along with, the girlfriend they’ve met in Madrid during that year, the flatmates who shared the flat now had their dates set to return, and then there was a few of us who were already settled in Madrid that wondered, “What now, all our friends whom we hanged out with when we had free time are now leaving.” I wondered, “What happens after this? Even though they say it’s not forever this could be the last time that we get on this way. The last time that this type of chemistry exists between all of us.” I was right when they returned to Madrid for a short stay they’ve changed, and things were different. It was different being in the group we knew than meeting personally. They have fallen out with some of the friends they’ve made while on Erasmus, broken up with the girlfriend and some didn’t get in touch since leaving Madrid. They themselves changed. You know… life happens.
A real good connection but you have to move onto the next destination
Backpackers or travellers who are on the road for months at some point met someone they’ve gotten along with however the lone traveller who moves from destination to destination really knows how to make the best of the company they’ve really clicked within that short space of time. See being a traveller takes off the pressure and all you have is that short space of time to get to the point and make the best of the experience. What is even more incredible when you talk about where you’ve been and what you’re going to see next. The coolest thing is when you hear someone say, “Omg!!! That too is my next destination and I’ll be there a day after you get there, let’s meet up and exchange numbers!” The travelling world is incredible, I mean here in Europe with the system they have in place it’s easy for travellers to cancel and continue their stay or change it and book somewhere else i.e. the freedom to change your plans.
When you travel you are in tune with a certain frequency and way of being. I would say you are more in tune with nature too. Your senses are engaged as you’re on this journey to see, touch, taste, feel, sense, hear, be, do, act, live… I mean everything is heightened. You’re in tune on a heart level and therefore you feel the connection more to all things i.e. nature, people, places, things… You can often tell if you’re really in tune with your heart if you’ll see someone again or not even though there was a wonderful connection, you want to see that person again and you’ve exchanged contact details and this is the part where you really know when saying goodbye if you will see this person again really soon or never. Travellers will be able to resonate with this a lot more.
So, when I say dying even happens when you’re alive I’m saying all your life if you understand your evolution enough i.e. the part of you that has to die to become a better version of you happens when you’re divorcing, when you breaking up with a partner you’ve been with for a long time, leaving a job that you’ve worked in for years, giving up a certain lifestyle to settle down and have kids, becoming an individual, becoming independent, growing up, moving onto new experiences, no longer living with your parents, no longer a girl but a woman are all examples of something dying inside you.
Think about it, the pain doesn’t last forever unless you hold onto it other then that you’ve gotten over it. Wouldn’t you agree?
It is a circle of life. Spring when everything is coming to life, summer when everything is blossoming, autumn is when everything is slowly dying and winter when what can’t survive, or what’s not build on strong foundations die, while with some things death is just a temporary phase for things to renew again.
Think about the physical body too, how did you grow up? Something had to die for you to be who you are today and it’s the same for plants, and animals.
T. Dench Patel
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Note: Do keep referring back to this site as much as possible, as I grow, a more profound perspective may form and so I will always come back to each of these articles to reevaluate them.
