This is my reality:
I plan a trip and enjoy every minute of it; then come home and start saving for the next one. This endless countdown to the 'next trip' is how I keep my sanity throughout my work days and everyday life. Hell, I even moved abroad to London so I could live a never-ending holiday for awhile.
There is a normalcy of living a nomadic style life; where dreaming of nothing more than jetting off to far off places, where you can relax on a beach, explore a big city or even zipline through forests becomes 'the usual'. The love to travel and seeing the world will never bore you, and you know that you will never run out of places to see and return to.
There is risk involved of course. Nothing worth having comes easy. But you put your faith in the knowledge that everything will be ok. You expect to arrive at your destination, because the thought of not getting there is not something you can actually comprehend happening.
In light of the various disasters that are happening more often than we want to acknowledge these days; you count yourself lucky that it didn't happen to you. Yet, feel so horribly that it still happened to someone else.
It is the risk all travelers take, but they never dream it will be how it ends. Death is not supposed to strike on holiday. You are stress-free and happy. The adrenaline is pumping and adventure awaits you once you land. Or maybe home is calling and you will finally be reunited? Either way, it just isn't fair.
Since 9/11, traveling has taken a sinister turn. No one can board a plane without thinking about it, as we have our bags screened, our liquids limited to 100ml and our shoes off as we walk into yet another scanner just to make sure we aren't carrying a weapon...or worse. In light of Brussels, no where seems safe anymore.
The world is already a scary place. But planning a trip is one of the most joyful occasions one can have. It brings a smile to anyone's face as they pack and re-pack, plan an itinerary and ensure they have enough underwear to last a week or two.
The escape from life for a few weeks is just what you need, because you deserve it. You work hard to pay for these experiences and are rewarded by drinking cocktails, spotting celebrities and ticking things off your bucket list - you live the trip you sacrificed so much in your life just to have.
The sickening part about it all is that you don't know it is happening until it does. When I hear about these tragedies I don't think about who did what or why something happened. People have their reasons for targeting innocent people that we will never understand and no matter how much we plan ahead and limit their access, they will find a way somehow.
No, what I think about is all those innocent people who were just on a holiday, heading back home, going to a wedding, traveling to see their team play, or just beginning an adventure of a lifetime in another country. For them to realize in that one moment that they weren't going to get there, have that experience, live life beyond this point...people who are just like me and you and millions of others who plan these trips every single day, yet nothing happens to us.
Travel has risks. You can never control what happens when you do it.
But what I do know is this: I will never stop planning, experiencing and living my life in the chance that something may go wrong. Because then they win. Fear wins. And that's not the life I care to have.
It is the chance we all take every time we step outside - but it is worth it because no matter what happens at least we were out there seeing the world, stepping out of our comfort zone and doing what makes us happy.
Traveling is a gift. You are not entitled to see anything in this world. But the more places I tick off and get to return to, the luckier I feel just to have been able to do it. To see so much, meet so many different people and to know what actually exists outside the confines of Australia's borders.
I want to explore the world and visit places I enjoy. No matter how many horrible things happen in the world, I will never stop doing this. Travel is my happiness. It completes me and makes me feel like I am living my life to the fullest degree. I will use every second of my time here to explore it all as much as I possibly can.
Travel is a risk.
But it is a risk worth taking every single time.
And that will never change.
This piece was originally published on enchantedserendipity.com