Life Recently: Remembering Why We Are Here

Confession: I am really struggling to write this blog post. I have struggled with every post that I have begun writing in the past fortnight.

Every touch of a key is like completing a press-up. And I hate working out, Taran will tell you that.

In the past few weeks I have struggled to focus my time, my brain and my energy into anything other than working and saving, and the subsequent relaxing before and after.

I guess its like a throwback to my life of a few years ago, where it was all work, very little play and a lot of decompressing. There was little room for creativity or the mental capacity to express myself.

I lamented my frustration to a friend the other day, of how something I love as much as this blog has suddenly become an albatross around my neck. He very wisely responded with 'You can't really maintain a travel blog when you are not actually travelling', and he's right.

You don't feel like sharing the duller moments.

When you travel you have lots of free time, much of it filled with fun, excitement and relaxation. You cannot wait to share photos and stories, and we especially love doing so here on the blog and on our YouTube channel.

When you stop travelling to earn the money you need to travel some more, you undoubtedly lose momentum in general, let alone in the maintenance of a travel blog.

The sad thing is however, a life where you work more than you play is the reality for the vast majority of people I know. One day that may be my reality too. And in fact, its a reality I embrace the prospect of when I imagine doing a job I love or building on the next phase of my life.

But I still wonder, what will happen then, to my fundamental need to express, create, write and tell stories?

Will it fall by the way-side, taking my mood with it, like it has in recent weeks?

Will I sit wondering why I feel so flat, low and am endlessly seeking distraction, all the while knowing deep down, that it's because my hearts true creative desires are being quashed?

Having this conversation with you all takes me back to this post, where someone else so acutely and keenly summarized my feelings and I expanded on the point around not letting your job or need to work define you or how your life transpires.

But I made the big life change, I quit the job and left home, travelled some, and soon learned that I had chosen an exceedingly expensive country to spend 2 years in and so would spend much of that time working to support the lifestyle...

Caring a little bit less

As people we constantly chase time. We are acutely aware of each passing hour of each passing day because we always have to be somewhere, or complete some timely task. We live and die by the clock.

But just once and a while we need to care a little less about the things which seem so big and important, and stop perceiving them as so set in stone that we lose all sight of our inner truth.

I need to do this. I need to do it now, I need to do it in the future, when I have to stop and work again to support the travelling I so dream of doing.

I need to accept that there is no true relaxation, without hard work first. There is no freedom and abandonment of convention without adhering to it for a while first too.

I need to sweat the small stuff less, remember the bigger picture, and see myself as being in control, not beholden to some horrible boss or hectic schedule, because these things do not have to be forever, not for me, or you.

Am I saying that I'm unhappy?

No, I'm not saying that. I'm saying that I have itchy feet.

I never stop feeling the wanderlust even when the comfort of building a temporary home feels like a welcome respite from the constant movement.

I might feel relief at a steady income and a sense of financial security, but it isn't the feeling I chase, merely one I enjoy all the while knowing that I cannot wait to use those hard-earned wages to create more memories.

I need to always remember why we are here. We all need to remember why it is that we get out of bed each morning.

We have to place the pursuits and the people that bring us joy at the centre of the free time we do have.

We have to practise self-care before we practise chastisement, for feeling as if we aren't giving 110% to every facet of our complex lives.

We must try and grasp at our passions like balloons threatening to fly away forever, because whilst it feels hard, like a press-up for instance, it is the only thing that matters.

No matter if you're job demands the best of you, it isn't the best part of you and it doesn't mean more than your hopes, dreams or instinctive psychological needs.

I remember why we came here.

I know why when I look up at the green palms blowing against the backdrop of a pure aqua sky.

I know why when I laugh at something somebody has said, a somebody I never would have met if I never came here.

I know why when I realize that I might be a little bit lost, and in the mindset of searching, but where there's exploration and curiosity, there's always possibility.

Here's an insight into what we've been up to recently:

Thanks for reading!

Hannah and Taran here. We hail from Southern England, where we met online and are now realizing our mutual passion for travel here at Nomad'erHowFar. We discuss Nomadic Living, Simplifying your Life and Long-term Travel, to empower, motivate and inspire our readers. Get to know us here!

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