I used to travel a lot when I was in the university. Each summer I would hit the road with my thumb pointing up and would hitch-hike across Europe. I had no money back then. I just packed up my books and a few essential items and would throw myself on the nearest highway to go… somewhere. Those were the best days of my life. You get to meet so many other travelers – people from all over the world, who like you are wandering around with an open mind and an unceasing desire to explore other countries and experience different cultures for what they really are.
There’s a great deal of respect among travelers. It’s the parallel world where possessions mean very little and sharing is part of life. It’s because your everyday essentials consist of things that are above material possessions – it’s the air, it’s your dreams, it’s the sky above your head as you take rest in soft grass. Traveling enhances your spirit, it opens up your mind to be more receptive towards the others. It teaches you to see things differently for when you go hand in hand with nature, you set yourself free from the confinement of your own ego.
I know I have already said it, but let me say it again – those were the best years of my life. I was happy, every day was exciting. I had stories to tell and these stick with me to this day. I was doing things I enjoyed and cared about. My life was making sense to me and I felt I would never want to swap with anyone. I started with this lifestyle in my late teens and lived that way until my mid twenties.
But then something happened and I turned my life around. Something got to me and I have come to conclusion that I had wasted enough of my time wandering the world like a bum, that I should settle, get myself a job and start building something around me, something material so I can touch it and feel like I own something. Now that I look back at this almost decade long period of my life, I know that this was the darkest time of my journey on Earth. I try to think of it as a time I needed to go through in order to fully realize how important every second of your life is and how every second you don’t do something that excites or uplifts you is a second wasted and it can never be recovered.