At the suggestion of a few friends I just read Vagabonding: an uncommon guide to the art of long-term world travel by Rolf Potts. I’m actually kind of shocked I wasn’t familiar it before because it’s echoing quite a bit of my own philosophy, or at least the philosophy I like to think I have, as well as giving me a bit to strive for. I’ve spent a good chunk of the last 2 years traveling around the world and it’s safe to say this has lead to some of the best times in my entire life. If nothing else the overall experience of regularly traveling for longer periods of time has been enlightening, entertaining, adventuresome, and I wouldn’t trade it for anything. In fact I actively want to trade things I have to allow me to do more of it. There’s something about being out in the world that helps you understand yourself in ways you didn’t know you could.
I’ve been a “collector” for much of my life and have spent a lot of time & money trying to convince myself that things would make me happy. If I had one more band t-shirt, or that extra limited color vinyl of that bands 7″, or one more tiki mug, or a complete set of these rare Japanese toys, or the store exclusive of that artist figure, or whatever then I would finally be content. In each case when I got those items and they didn’t turn out to be the solution to all my problems I decided I must have been chasing the wrong thing and just moved on to something else. Towards the end of my Jumbo Machinder obsession I realized that the thrill of the hunt was much more rewarding than crossing the finish line, so to speak. This is a topic I’ve talked about before and for the last few years I’ve been trying to shift my life more towards the experiences, and trying to get away from the stuff. More often than not travel is a crucial part of those experiences that I feel are actually rewarding.
