Travel Philosophy: The Hamster Wheel Has to Stop Someday

To be precise, just about six months from now we will be heading to South America.

There will not be a set itinerary but we are planning on buying one year round trip tickets from Miami to probably Quito or Montevideo and returning from either Buenos Aires or Santiago to Miami.

We are taking it slow, traveling, immersing and learning the Spanish language, culture, food, estancia lifestyle and everything that South America has to offer.

Many have asked why and how we are letting go of everything to travel with two teens.

It is much easier for my husband and I because years ago, we abandoned our comfort and everything that we were familiar with in the country of our birth and became “aliens” in New Zealand and United States respectively.

We are creatures of comfort and have settled for many years here in America until the downfall of 2008. Somehow we gained new perspectives on life and things. It took us more than two years to finally say, let’s do it.

Stuff are totally meaningless, bought with hard earned money and at the end of the day, they are just stuff that accumulates dust and demands our time and attention each week when comes cleaning and dusting time.

When I gathered all my stuff and gave them away in the last year, they were totaled in the thousands of dollars. As I said goodbye to all these books, mementos, souvenirs and gifts… I feel sad and at the same time relieved.

I’m no longer attached to stuff and have added a dose of tranquility to my life with less. We are creating a minimal and location independent lifestyle.

Six more months to clean out…

Everyday about 50 pieces of paper are being shredded. In the last 6 months shredding papers from banks, schools, notes, utility companies, work and everywhere. There must have been 20 stacks already and more are waiting for me to shred.

To all my friends who are thinking about going green and supporting responsible and sustainable tourism, it’s time to go digital.

We are reinventing our life and carving a career path for our children. Giving them tools for self-discovery and a world education that traveling could only do, not the textbooks alone. This global culture and changing economy demands young people to think outside of their normal box and less of themselves.

Selfishness and the ‘me’ culture kills the creativity, potential and path of personal enrichment of our young people. I want to see my teens develop compassion for those who have less, upgrade their own skills in reaching out to all people groups and cultures, have an eagerness to learn outside of textbooks and appreciate the beauty of diversity.

Can you imagine paying $35,000 in tuition fee for first year of college? How about using that money for a gap year and travel? Wouldn’t that make more sense?

With the sophisticated online technology, most basic college courses can be done online for a cheaper price and less time.

The founder of the company that has this slogan “when it absolutely, positively has to be there in the morning", Federal Express' Fred Smith said:

You are the way you are because that’s the way you want to be. If you really wanted to be any different, you would be in the process of changing right now.

Is it easy to give and sell almost everything?

Not at all. But if we don’t take action we may just be running on a hamster wheel. I don’t know about you, but we had run vigorously on that hamster wheel. Just to illustrate how vigorous it was, my son once remarked... I think that a hamster wheel can actually helps us generate our own electricity. Is that intense?

ACTION… all the belief and potential without action will never produce any results. Whether it is life or travel philosophy that you are planning, action will bring you closer to results...one step at a time.

Do you have the fear of traveling out of your comfort zone? Are you sick of being on a hamster wheel? Take a deep breath and let me know your thoughts. Comment below, thanks!