This is something one of my really close friends experienced before our last trip together.
Written by- Swarna Rajesh
A lot of people around you do not travel or don’t even aspire to travel. I, for example, am one such person you will come across. Don’t get me wrong, I have nothing against seeing or experiencing new places or even against the people who have been disturbingly bitten by the travel-bug. In fact, I admire them. It takes a lot of courage, passion and even the dedication to be an ardent traveler. I have tried many a time to travel myself. But, there has always been something more important than that I had to do or wanted to do. Here are a couple of things you should know if you are my soul-twin, know my probable soul-twin or perhaps wonder what my soul-twin would be like.
The thought of travel: This probably is one of the biggest fears I have. At the very thought of travel, what generally people feel is excitement or joy. What do I get? Scared and anxious! The next few seconds will be filled with me unleashing my rational self and filtering out dozens of opportunities to miss out on. There is a lot of effort I need to put in to accommodate every single concern I may have with a particular trip. I’d rather divert that energy elsewhere and not be bothered about it. What you must do, my friend, is remedy yourself in such a scenario. Lock yourself up for a day indoors with absolutely no gadget, people, pets or books and definitely no luxurious food or beverage. Complicate your living situation to the core for a day. Live life on the edge, indoors. Experience every paranoia you may have. If you get through the day bravely, reward yourself with the thought of travel again. You may see things differently now. If you find this remedy extreme, set a target or a goal you can pride yourself upon achievement. This should be at the intended destination. It could be anything from eating pork at a particular restaurant or even living with an absolute stranger. Then work towards planning to attain that rather than plan the trip itself. This opens multiple doors.
The day of travel: Unlike every other experienced traveler, I never make checklists. There is always something I forget; from leaving my keys in the classroom to forgetting to take my bag from an auto. This could actually prove to be quite dangerous one day. You will definitely have to give yourself some constant stimulus so that you don’t end up in grave trouble. Simple pre-established mobile reminders or traveling with a companion are easy solutions to this. A couple of months ago my friends and I went on a trek to Tung Fort in Pune. I thanked the stars I gazed at all night for having them boost my memory from time to time. I don’t know what I would have done without them. I could hardly use Google maps back then! Yet another thing you should know about me is that my idea of a vacation does not come with doing things completely different. I would still need to do everything on time, not take a lot of risks in what I eat and drink and perhaps even refuse to pay a fortune, even if it means I never get the opportunity again. During such difficult times, find the next best alternative and convince yourself that it indeed is the next best alternative. In a situation where you have exactly what you are looking for as well as the next best option, chose the latter. Experience the latter. Get used to the latter. This will help you prep up and be lesser prone to risks.
The hangover: Post travel, I generally like to be left alone. I have seen a lot of enthusiastic travelers wanting to convey how they felt and give feedback to other enthusiastic fellow travelers. Although I may share a couple of memories on social media, I prefer restricting myself from dialogue with a third person. This is either because I am lazy or am just not interested in engaging myself in numerous questions asked. I also find other travelers plan another trip or even discuss what they would want to do next. I usually am just glad to be back to my routine. Fears of the thought of travel start creeping in again upon such discussion. Going back to square one is never really that pretty. To be honest, there is no quick solution to this. It takes a lot of time to mould yourself into understanding expectations. In fact, it is fairly reasonable to be so. You are who you are and you needn’t live life differently on an everyday basis. It is okay to be inside the box and be extremely happy. If being comfortable is what gets you in high spirits, do not let anyone take that away from you. That is what makes you part of our very special soul-twin community.
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