Lessons from midlife crisis
When the proverbial midlife crisis came I wasn’t sure what result it will bring. I knew that the travel is involved as well as seeing the things that I always wanted to see, for example the temples of EGYPT. Also I was sure that all sorts of new meals will come my way as I do love good food and have no problem to try new things I mean in food. Well also in other fields, situations and experiences.
Travelling alone is exciting, you doing what you want, when you want, meeting new people and if you don’t like them then you leave them. Total freedom of choice. You become part of the groups of likeminded people. You might exchange contacts and promise to stay in touch as if your life depend on it. Of course eighty percent of those contacts you never contact again. It is the beauty of travelling, you meet people in the places and times in their lives that intersect with yours at the very point. Then you move to another adventure and meet more people and more contacts but at the end, they come and go from your life as you from theirs.
Then there are the people who you keep in touch, as you feel like you found long lost family or friends. It is very nice to found them as they enrich our lives, with long lasting effect. In some cases even those contacts get rusty, especially if you move out to different countries and time zones. Great social networks are good for mindless browsing but really not for social interactions. Few messages or phone calls cannot replace the moments you sit across the table or on the beach and talk, especially with chilled beer in the hand. And the best fact is that if you close eyes and dive deep in memory bank of super computer inside your skull, you can relive those moments again, instantly.
If my time here on the blue marble is coming to end I’m glad I did all that travel, met those people, ate those delicious meals. Nothing is more hard on the heart and soul, than unfulfilled dreams. Dreams that could come to fruition if one ability to have courage is never ending and one never give up.
Who knows who will remember me from all those people I’ve met but I do remember them all. All their quirks, laughs, smiles, chats and mostly how good was the feeling when we were together. We are social animals as I heard once and I think that in last year or two people are forgetting that. That we need social interaction face to face, handshake, hug, laugh, smile, maybe few drinks and closeness instead of social distance. No one seems to notice that what we doing is teaching the young generation not to touch, not to get close, etc because of fear.
Love of humanity is something that should be more elevated and promoted instead of fear. When we are in fear, we change the courage to explore to courage to destroy. I’m not speaking of flower power sixties as much as I know about it from media. I’m talking just normal curiosity of exploring and sharing the moments that take our breath away, as sunrise on top of the sand dune in Sahara with others. The moments that are so deeply engraved in our grey matter that even know, they bring a smile on my face when I see them in memory drive of my brain. Every place I’ve visited is linked to people I met, immediately when I close my eyes and think of any place or country, face of person surface in my mind.
Mind is great for storing the memories and it is up to us use those memories in the future and build upon them. Build upon the warm feeling that they brought. History is great teacher but sometimes we forget our own history, where we came from, where we have been and who we met. Every one of those interactions, shaped us to who we are today, even if we do not think or admit it. This is important as those experiences defined, who we are. More people we meet, more countries we visit the more we know who we are. At the end we realize the ‘WE’ I mean humans are not so different after all, across the world.
When the bells tool for the last time, I wish that I have enough pleasant memories to watch on the way out. Some of those best and greatest memories are the most painful. Leaving my son behind, what destroyed his soul and subsequently mine. This is something that is really hard to forget and forgive for myself. I learned that people come and go from our lives but those close to us leave a huge scar in our hearts as we do leave it in theirs as we part. I just hope that one day we all really learn to forgive and forget.
These are few short lessons, I learned from my travels and I’m glad I realized, how much I learned and how they make me feel.
I am very grateful for all those lessons I learned, all those people I’ve met, for my health and wealth that let me experience all of that.
