Tired of traveling
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So maybe you’ve been a Vagabonder your entire life and you’re starting to feel less of a thrill when you hop off a plane somewhere new, or your feet hurt from never being able to carry the right pair of shoes…or you find a great gal/guy and want to settle down…or you’re sucked in by a particularly pertinent cause and you want to work for them…or you’ve just started Vagabonding but realize already that it’s not for you…
How do you stop moving?
There’s a lot of emotions tied in with Vagabonding; for some of us, it’s the dream that we were constantly having to defend to everyone else, all those folks who would say “You can’t do that” or “What are you running away from?” It was the way we wanted to live without ever realizing it existed, so how do we admit, even to ourselves, that we might want to leave it for a while?
What do you do when you’re starting to feel burned out on travel? How do you explain to family and friends that you’re thinking of settling for a while without them saying “I told you so” (not that it matters, because your reasons are your reasons, no matter what)? How did you feel when you stopped Vagabonding?
September 22nd, 2009 at 2:19 am
am currently in this predicament. am exhausted after about three years of mostly nonstop-ness. fell in love with a man and a landscape, and am ready to settle. all friends and family with eyebrows up, but with joy. heartfelt truthspeaking communication. i’m growing and learning and who knows how long this settling thing will last, but i will experience it in full, like everything else. living for the present moment regardless of traveling or no.
September 22nd, 2009 at 11:17 am
It all depends on whether you see it as a stop or a pause.
Thinking of it as stopping (as in “stopping smoking”–forever) would only trouble the mind of most Vagabonds…we know too much about unpredicatability and impermanence to believe we’re really leaving the road for good.
But I’m sure you meant this as “a pause” in your post above. So how to know when it’s time to take a break? However you get there, I think we each have to find a way to examine our motivations. All the way down… Has our travel been toward something, or running away? (Just one of many questions that would apply…)
Yes, we get accused of the “running away” business often, but sometimes there’s a bit of truth in there. Maybe someone starts traveling with a motivation of 95% seeking, 5% running, but after a two years things have flipped–they’re now at 80% running and 20% seeking. If you find a way to check in on yourself and see this, the next step would be accepting that it might be time for a break.
How to take a break from moving? Again, it’s not so much stopping or ending, but rather diverting your energy, attention and, yes, passion. Finding a new area in which to exercise your seeking.
As for having to explain yourself, launching into an at-home pursuit with the same intensity you’ve previously demonstrated through travel will only expand your friends’ and family’s idea of who you are and who you can be. Instead of triggering snarky responses, this would likely lead to greater respect.
How did I feel when I stopped? I’ve been off the road for a year, and although the Next Big Trip is starting to gel in my head, where I am is enjoyable enough that I don’t feel any sort of rush or need to escape. The thing that’s helped me get along here is continuing to view this place–Bethlehem, PA, that is–as just another stop on the road, as worthy a destination as Amritsar or Santiago de Compostela.
September 22nd, 2009 at 2:00 pm
Hmm, I’m currently in this predicament like Jaz, though without love part! I did fall in love with Medellin, Colombia at the end of my RTW trip, and made the impromptu decision to live there for 6 months, delaying my return to the States.
One plus I’ve found in terms of stopping, and returning to a familiar environment, is a renewed focus on improving my blog and reconnecting with people. When I’m constantly traveling, I make plenty of new friends and acquaintances, but I don’t often have the chance to strengthen those relationships because we’re ultimately going to head in different directions.
September 22nd, 2009 at 8:54 pm
I knew I was tired when I got to Heathrow on my way to New York. When the customs agent asked me which country I was in the previous night, I COULD NOT REMEMBER! Completely blanked. The agent started naming off countries and I could not tell him where I was. He look at my passport, looked me in the eye and then let me through.
September 26th, 2009 at 2:09 am
On my sixth week of traveling SE Asia, I felt, for the first time, burned out. And what did I do? I went home. I missed Filpino food, talking in Tagalog, and of course family and friends. I was eager to share with them what I’ve seen, tasted and experienced in other Asian countries. I felt like I was some reporter who needed to bring home the news, then after that… head out of the country to research some more!
October 6th, 2009 at 4:09 am
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