Published on: Nov 18, 2015
The year is hurtling to an end, Christmas beckons with outstretched hands, and I shall be found, once again, in foreign lands as the first frost of Winter creeps across England.
It has been one hell of a year… I’ve dabbled with being a millionaire in Venezuela, I’ve been tattooed by the last Mambabatok and, I’ve had my heart broken.
A tsunami of emotions has often threatened to overturn my small craft as I have battled the currents, fought with my mind, my heart, my dick, to do the right fucking thing rather than to capsize into a sea of madness.
Until very recently, I did not intend on doing this trip alone. I was to travel with a girl I adored through countries I had wanted to visit since I was a kid; I was, in short, to live the god-damn dream.
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For the first couple of days, one thought and one thought alone stood at the edge of my consciousness, stalking me in my moments of weakness and threatening to send me hurtling back to the UK.
“What if I am making a mistake?”
A two, possibly two and a half year trip, through the frigid wilds of Absurdistan, the primal waves of the Pacific and the uncharted jungles of Papua New Guinea; this will take every ounce of physical and mental energy I have at my disposal.
To do this trip by myself, especially after I had planned to do it with somebody I was in love with, it’s a hell of a shift in gears.
And yet, as I pressed my face against the cool glass of a speeding car, driven by a new friend, the blue-tinted clouds racing overhead, I felt an incredible sensation – I felt truly, for the first time in months, unburdened.
I don’t have to answer to anybody.
In the words of Bon Jovi, “It’s my life”.
And it could end tomorrow.
Alexander the Great was a man who understood the importance of this. Every morning, a slave would wake him with the same line – “Remember, you are going to die.”
Life is brief, fleeting, and, if you blink, you may miss it.
Nothing lasts. It is crucial that we understand and embrace this.
I think it is important to live every day as if it is your last; to create, to love, to live and to enjoy your surroundings. Sure, there are some days where unpleasant or boring tasks need to be completed and this is fine.
If, however, these days begin to merge together, if you have weeks or even months where you do not enjoy your life, where you do not feel stimulated, it is time to shake it up, it is time to ditch your desk.
Over the last few months, my own path has become clearer to me – I will undertake this adventure and, if I do not get killed enroute, I shall open a chain of ground-breaking hostels with the human being I love more than any other, my brother.
Eventually, we shall move on to the next stage; founding our commune deep in the hills, a totally off-the-grid, totally sustainable living space for folks of intellectual and spiritual means to come together with the aim of creating something great.
I want to learn to plant organic gardens, I want to learn to dig a well, I want to learn to play the saxophone; I am, in short, extremely excited for what the future shall bring.
If I was to get hit by a car tomorrow, to lie bleeding and dying and gasping in the street, it would be a great shame and yet, I am on the right path. I feel content with my decisions, I feel excited for the future, and I feel honoured to have met so many incredible people over my lifetime. I do not feel like I am in limbo. I am the master of my own destiny. I feel driven, passionate, ambitious. I feel alive.
I have been on the road for just ten days.
Ten days out of over eight hundred…
I have already met some incredible, inspiring people – the kind of people I want to be around. People who get it.
Beginning this journey by myself, when I had not planned to, was a real challenge for me.
Letting go and moving on, these are two things which I have always struggled with.
If however, at the beginning of every day, you dread what lies ahead, it is time for a change.
There are many ways to make this change; you can start small. Revamp your diet, hit the gym, take up a new skill. In my opinion, for one to be truly happy, both physical and mental stimulation are required every day.
Do not let others hold you back from your dreams, if you fear the unknown then this is a good thing.
Embrace your fear, embrace yourself and allow your journey to unfold.
Peace, love and happy trails…
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