Is Travel Worth the Cost? Rethinking What We Really Need
Why I Choose to Invest in Travel Over Material "Stuff"
Travel is a dream I have carried in me for years. Something that feels like more than an interest or a hobby, but literally part of my soul. I long for adventure. I crave going to places I have never been.
Some people I share this with think it's silly or even naïve. I have been told often that my dream trip costs are equal to “XYZ” and how could I value “just going somewhere that isn’t here” more than “this thing”??
The Problem with “Keeping Up with the Joneses”
And believe me, I do get it. Obviously in life we as humans need certain things to survive, to live a healthy life, to function, to make money, to take care of kids, to learn skills or hobbies, to work, to build, to create. I want to be clear that I don’t disvalue those things!
But also, I can’t help but look around at the world as it is today, and think about how much excess stuff there is everywhere, and I ask myself “what do we really need??” Honestly, how much is enough, and how much is just drowning us in miserable, hard-to-maintain, keeping-up-with-the-Joneses lifestyle creep? And where does that end?
Why Travel is an Investment, Not an Expense
Yes, traveling is costly. But every good thing in life is! It's costly to invest in hobbies or skills or education or a home or any number of things, especially if you want it to be good. So if traveling is the thing that lights your soul on fire, why can’t it also be worth the investment??
In The End
I can’t speak for everyone, but what I know is this: when I am 90 and at the end of my life, I don’t think I will be happy if I am just surrounded with things.
I think I will be happy to have beautiful, meaningful memories of fulfilled dreams, true adventures with my kids and husband, and a lifetime of proof that I was really living.
Its a fact that after this life I can’t take any of the stuff with me. And while I honestly don't know if I get to keep the memories after this life either, I do know, it seems I have a better chance of keeping the memories than I ever will of keeping the stuff.
Trading in the “American Dream”
So I WILL be investing in the memories. The dreams. Time freedom, spent with my kids building their memories and fulfilled dreams. The real, beautiful, satisfying life I want to live, and not the corporate slave “American dream” being shoved down our throats at any given time of day.
What Lights Your Soul on Fire?
If this resonated with you, I hope you can find the courage to invest your time, money, and energy into what lights up your soul. Even if your thing is not travel, like it is for me. But if your thing is traveling, I hope you can find some help along your journey to invest in yourself, right here with me. Know you aren’t alone in that desire, and know you are worth investing in.
