I’ve considered long term travel for a while now but know that it can be hard due to the many other priorities that come up in life. Our societal norms dictates and portrays a certain lifestyle in the West and it almost becomes so persuasive that it forces you to believe that it’s the only way to live. Surely there must be other ways.
My question is, is it really a problem to give up on certain luxuries in order to travel long term. Buying a house, getting the latest car, having many possessions and incessantly going shopping for things that end up in the charity box; am I only living life or counted as being successful if I do these things?
Why is it that every time I sit with someone, there’s so much emphasis on buying a house, saving for a car, buying things I don’t need and constantly eating out in the same old restaurants. I could put that money to better use by saving it for travelling to different countries, meeting different people, trying different cuisines, learning new cultures, studying the history of numerous countries, observing some of the most remarkable sites in the world, hiking in different places, swimming in different seas and reducing any level of bigotry I may harbour by venturing out of my comfort zone.
I am yet to find one person that can guarantee that you’re a failure in society if you do not maintain the status quo; get a job, work full time, come home, watch TV, eat, sleep, buy a nice car, live in a nice house, retire and watch some more TV. I’m not here to criticise everyone. I’m sure there are many people who have that lifestyle and choose to go down that route for good enough reasons. I have no issue with the lifestyle. What I do have a problem with is the unnecessary remark made by society the second someone chooses to go down a different and uncommon route.
Let’s respect people’s decisions and learn to embrace unique ideas others may have. Let’s embrace their endeavours as the world requires such unique projects and ideas. The world needs people to be involved in travelling the world, writing about their experiences and educating the world about different cultures. What travellers and travel bloggers do, is not an easy task. They do not simply go on holiday. In fact some of them need a holiday from travelling. These people are artists and content creators and great ones indeed. Let’s learn to appreciate, respect and embrace what they do. Most importantly, lets learn to appreciate their contribution to world knowledge.
Muslims Go Travel 