‘Location is everything.’
I’ve always been familiar with that term, as I’m sure you all are. But it’s only now that I fully grasp the importance of location – not just with real estate but with everything in life.
As always, let me tell you my story.
I love traveling. It’s the one thing I’m genuinely passionate about. And of course, anyone reading this blog can already guess my other big passion (it’s fries in case you haven’t made the connection). So anyway, there are times when these two great passion happen alongside.
I would sit at a charming cafe in a beautiful city – watching people pass by, taking in the new surrounding, admiring the architecture and landscape around me. I would order some fries and munch away, and you know what, most of the time the fries didn’t even taste that good. Some were even borderline disgusting. Surely if I was having such horrible and overpriced fries in my hometown cafe, I would have stopped eating and demanded a refund. But in that moment because I was on a natural high from being in a new place, even bad fries tasted wonderful to me.
Amazing how just a change of scenery can have such an affect a person, huh? For me it doesn’t only applies fries, but also to relationships I’ve had.
I remember instances where just being in the same room with that person for one more minute was torture. Times when talking was an impossible task – every word uttered led to more arguments and resentment.
And then as some desperate attempt to save these dying relationships, we would make travel plans.
The thrill of being in a new place, the excitement of trying to find our way in an unknown area, the joy of seeing beautiful sights and scenery, the wonders of hearing different languages, the taste of exotic food – everything about traveling puts me in a state of total ecstasy and love. So much so that I would believe I was in love with the man I was traveling with.
To quote Rumi,
Travel brings power and love back into your life
But when the travel ends and I step down from my natural high, I would realize that the love I felt wasn’t for him – it was for Life.
It also makes me ponder on relationships in general. I’ve watched shows like The Bachelor (yes, I know I’m lame) where couples travel to exotic locations together and fall in love, only to fall out of love once they get back to reality. Or couples who travel together to rekindle their romance. I’m sure things would be perfect while traveling, but what about after it’s over? Does the resentment kick back in? Does it become boring again? Do couples need to plan trips every weekend to keep the love alive? Or maybe we are meant to spend our lives traveling from one place to another, so we can always be in a state of love?
