The Magic Ingredient to Slow Life Down

Don’t end up wondering how life flew by in the blink of an eye.

Photo by Vidar Nordli-Mathisen on Unsplash

** Republished from a time circa 2017 **

I lived a wonderful life in America. I called it home all my life and it means a lot to me. It is where all my family is, and I have a lot of friends there, too. But in no way do I feel rooted there the rest of my life.

Friends and family don’t always understand my intentions. They think I’m running away. They think I’m looking for an excuse to get away from them.

That’s not it at all. I’m not running away. As a matter of fact, if I had my choice, I’d bring them with me.

But they don’t want to leave. They are content with where their life is which is great for them.

I haven’t found my place of contentedness yet. I only know that traveling keeps my adrenaline rising.

There’s something about the nomadic lifestyle that attracts me. That keeps me coming back for more. That, every day, gives me something new and makes me feel like I’m actually living.

We live in a society that forms a “supposed” life for us. We’re supposed to graduate college. You’re supposed to get a job, get married, have kids, retire; and then maybe do some things you’ve always wanted.

I had to take a look at myself and ask if that’s really the life I looked forward to.

It wasn’t.

I had to do something radically different. Something that would scare the shit out of me. I had to know that I wouldn’t have the regret of not going after everything I dreamed of.

A nomadic lifestyle is a sacrifice. But, looking at the bigger picture, allows me to be who I want to be. It challenges me to go outside of my comfort zone. It has taught me that life can be simple at its core.

I had to escape the routine that all of us are inevitably heading for. Or else, I’d look back at my twenties and realize a whole decade has passed me. Without ever finding anything I’m passionate enough to show for.

A lot of older folks will tell you,

“Life happens…it seems like just yesterday I was 20 and now here I am at 80.”

Too often this is the case. For all of us. Unless you do something about it.

I wanted to do something about it.

When I’m traveling, my mind and eyes are wide open. It’s like my brain is finally turned on and I am living.

I’m 22 years old, and yet, I feel like I’ve just started to discover life since I have hit the road. It’s like I’m a kid seeing everything for the first time. Everything is brand new to me.

It’s too easy to get overwhelmed with the everyday tasks of growing up and forget to take time for yourself. But no matter what we think, the never-ending To-Do list that is constantly sitting in our minds is never going to get shorter.

Pretty soon, life will pass us by. If we want to stop it, we have to take that unconventional leap into the unknown. No one is going to do it for us.

I found that to live the life I wanted, I need to slow things down and make life simpler.

That’s what living a nomadic lifestyle and travel, in general, does for me.

That’s why I do this.

So to all of my friends and family that think I’m running from my life at home — that‘s not it. Not even close, actually. I’m not trying to find a new life, either. I’m trying to live the life I have to the fullest I can. It may be cliché, but it is how I want to live.