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 So now you're home... |
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| wakingdream |
 Jul 10 2007, 08:33 AM
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Rolling Stone
Group: Local Expert
Posts: 5853
Joined: 18-August 06
From: Guelph, Ontario
Member No.: 13336
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QUOTE It's hard to do the same mundane thing day after day. Sleep, commute, work, commute, sleep - living for the weekend to make the most of 48 hours. Arrrrrgggghhhh! And ditting at a desk for 7 hours a day when I'm used to being on the move all the time is painful. It's great to see my family and friends but oh-my-word is it hard to settle back in. It's like reverse culture shock only worse because all we experience at home isn't new at all and we start focusing on things that used to bother us some and now they bother us a whole lot. ( or they already othered us a whole lot!) I think most of us go away to find something different, a different way of life maybe because we're not so sure ours is the right one for us. Well, me anyway. Then we find all these beautiful people and places and they're hard to let go of, or leave behind anyway. I have found it really hard to find a balance since I stopped traveling so much. Very hard in fact because culture at home isn't so 'beautiful' to me. The way people are here seems so self-centered and self absorbed and it's tough to try and accept that. It is what it is though. Finding balance in life is hard but it's possible, it just takes some time. Not everyone can continue traveling on and on and there's a sort of depression that settles in when we realise that it's all "over". It's really not though. We take what we've experienced and learned and apply that to the next stage of our lives, all the while working toward a life we know will make us happy. Balance is key because the reality is not may of us can travel whenever we want to!  Plus, our travels make us appreciate what we have, even if we don't really need it all, which we don't!
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~Susie
'Yesterday's the past and tomorrow's the future. Today is a gift - which is why they call it the present.'
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| battlemonkey |
Jul 11 2007, 10:45 AM
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Voyager
Group: Members
Posts: 73
Joined: 23-February 07
From: New York, NY
Member No.: 40839
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In addition to the aforementioned mundaneness of day-to-day routine, I really miss exceeding the limits of my comfort zone. Going to a new bar above my price range and social standing gives a minor jolt, but it's nothing compared to the exhilaration of something like rolling a car into a brand new city and trying to figure out where the hell I'm going while local traffic whizzes past me; or better yet, the feeling I get doing something like hiking a mountain -- a real, craggy, above-the-tree-line, you-might-die-up-here mountain. That amazing combination of "This is awe inspiring" versus "Oh my God, what the hell have I done? I can't do this!" is tops.
Having gone from professional travel writer and journalist to a tech writer for an IT department at a university -- well, it stings on certain days.
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Keith Allison Teleport City... Hitting you with the WHOLE loaf of kungfu! www.teleport-city.comPhantom Limb: We're not so different, you and I. Brock Samson: Yeeeaah, I don't need another 'we're not so different' speech. I get those a lot. "Greetings, my friend. We are all interested in the future, for that is where you and I are going to spend the rest of our lives. And remember my friend, future events such as these will affect you in the future." -- Criswell |
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| sirrocko711 |
Dec 29 2008, 12:30 AM
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Wanderer
Group: Members
Posts: 15
Joined: 23-November 08
Member No.: 260596
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In addition to what's already been said, one of the hard parts for me has been sort of "rediscovering oneself" or "forging a new charlie!" while travelling, thinking I've come back a changed person, only to find myself sinking back into the same old grumpiness as soon as I got back. When I was backpacking, my social & small talk skills were better than ever, I felt alive, I had confidence I never had before... but it's all reverted back now. A friend of mine's Dad, who is a much more seasoned traveler than myself, told me that half of a really long, challenging adventure is holding on to the change even after you get back, "otherwise was just a head trip, what's the point?" So I guess that's been the hardest thing for me, keeping the change alive in the middle of my old monotonous routine.
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| vermaakjeanne |
Jan 20 2009, 06:47 AM
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Drifter
Group: Members
Posts: 26
Joined: 13-June 06
From: Cape Town, South Africa
Member No.: 3825
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What I love about traveling is not, only do you learn about others, but you learn so much about yourself... I miss that!! I miss the challenges that are presented to you along the way... Like Scott says you QUOTE 'grow when you go'
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| darrenstravels |
Jan 21 2009, 05:30 PM
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Tourist
Group: Members
Posts: 572
Joined: 12-April 08
From: County of Kent, UK
Member No.: 167016
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QUOTE(sirrocko711 @ Dec 29 2008, 05:30 AM) 
In addition to what's already been said, one of the hard parts for me has been sort of "rediscovering oneself" or "forging a new charlie!" while travelling, thinking I've come back a changed person, only to find myself sinking back into the same old grumpiness as soon as I got back. When I was backpacking, my social & small talk skills were better than ever, I felt alive, I had confidence I never had before... but it's all reverted back now. A friend of mine's Dad, who is a much more seasoned traveler than myself, told me that half of a really long, challenging adventure is holding on to the change even after you get back, "otherwise was just a head trip, what's the point?" So I guess that's been the hardest thing for me, keeping the change alive in the middle of my old monotonous routine.
I couldn't have put that better. I'm exactly the same. I just assumed it was me being moody because I can't (won't?) have it all my own way (Travel all the time). My Girlfriend took a few days off when we got back then was back to normal before I knew it. It's like she never went away. I just can't seem to get into any rhythm. Maybe I'll be alright when I get a job.
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| wakingdream |
Mar 22 2009, 12:43 PM
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Rolling Stone
Group: Local Expert
Posts: 5853
Joined: 18-August 06
From: Guelph, Ontario
Member No.: 13336
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QUOTE(darrenstravels @ Mar 22 2009, 10:07 AM)
No, I mean I need to stop worrying about my life, and actually live it.
Nothing to fear, but fear itself.....
sometimes you just have to let your life take its course with some necessary interference. I know what you mean about always worrying about life but I think once you manage to get over that you become much, much more happy. Life is life. If you can be happy and really enjoy and appreciate it, that's really the point of it all.... I think sometimes some people worry too much, like it's a all some race or competition.(for loads of people it is b/c there's SO MUCH PRESSURE) Not you, but, I dunno, I think I've been stuck feeling like that. A long time ago now and I'm glad i got over it. Worrying about things is inevitable in a way but worrying about everything is the grand scheme isn't really positive.
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~Susie
'Yesterday's the past and tomorrow's the future. Today is a gift - which is why they call it the present.'
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| dinemo |
Nov 14 2009, 08:17 PM
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Newbie
Group: Members
Posts: 1
Joined: 14-November 09
Member No.: 507411
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I agree. This is the most interesting, intelligent forum I've ever read! I am inspired and encouraged to write for the 1st time and say this I have pondered the question of who I am while at "home" and travelling. Why 2 people? why can't I hold on to the peace? I think it's because when I leave the resposibilities and expectations of working/family life behind, I also lose the ego-self. With no-one to impress, or live up to, no labels to wear.. it's so much easier to become our "real selves". When the ego is diminished, it allows the soul to shine thru. That allows us to connect with people more easily and deeply and to take time to see the beauty in the world. I've often wondered if I never came "home", would the bliss fade? Or do we need to experience both to feel the balance? Perhaps the challenge, the ultimate journey, is to maintain that feeling of peace and oneness, nomatter where in the world we are. Hope this wasn't too long, just great to find I'm not the only one who feels like this  |
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