In recent years I notice that when I take these trips it is not just a physical journey but a mental excursions as well. The long distance and time away from the day-to-day distractions allows me to reflect on my life. Typically there are moments during the trip where I begin to question the various aspects of my life, the questions start simple and build to a crescendo: Why am I traveling alone? Where are my friends? What am I doing in a foreign country far from my family? Why aren't I married? How come I don't have any kids? Do I want kids? What am I doing with my life? Why did I plan a trip during the baseball playoffs? These questions and many more as I bounce around a foreign land. With age and travel experience the answers have become more refined and I have become more accepting of my life and situation. Socrates may have thought it valuable, but sometimes while I am on vacation, I just find my mental process annoying. It is amazing that I have these thoughts at all, in so many ways I am living a life that incredible by any standard. I have my health, family that loves me, friends that support me, a job that I am fulfilled by; I live in the richest country in the world, I have college education that has help me to build a very acceptable level of comfort and freedom. Perhaps it is because of this level of comfort I have the luxury to worry about such mundane things, where as the rest of the world seeks a simple level of survival and security. I learned the other day that the Latin root for word decide means "to cut off from" and so I therefore every decision that I have made in my life has cut me off from other opportunities that would have put me in a different direction. Not necessarily a better direction just different - I just need to learn to accept and enjoy the direction I am headed.
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