Where It Began
It all started in October 2023 with a dream, though it wasn’t a grand, well-thought-out ambition. It was more of a quiet whisper—a fleeting thought. Around that time I had been listening to music from other cultures, and one evening the thought drifted into my mind: What if I just packed up and explored the many varying cultures around the world? At that point, it was a very distant fantasy, a thought similar to one I’m sure many of us have pondered at one stage or another.
At the time, I was living in Sydney, Australia, working in a mid-level leadership position at Zurich. I enjoyed my job, had good relationships with the people I worked with, a handful of close friends, and lived in a nice neighbourhood; my life was “comfortable” and from the outside, I was checking the societal boxes. However, for me, something was missing.
The thought of travelling over the following 7–8 months excited me momentary until the voice in my head shut down the thought, echoing with all the reasons why it couldn’t happen— “It would set back your career”, “Why waste your money on travelling?”, “What about your university studies”, “There are wars in the world, it’s not safe.”
During the first half of this year, my life, like everyone else’s, had some obstacles: starting a new job, completing university studies, prioritising time for health and maintaining a relationship; as well as a few other commitments, meant that my attention was being juggled across several things at any one time. Coupling this with the awareness I was bringing into my day-to-day life, which at the time sought a deeper meaning and purpose in life, led to friction, both physically as heat, and in my relationships. The culmination of experiences guided me to the realisation that something needed to change.
Now, whether it be by chance or coincidence, my partner and I had been planning a five-week holiday to Europe to visit her family and do some travelling starting in August. At the time of booking flights, we were unsure which country we would be returning from, so had only booked one-way flights.
After a relatively quick conversation one Wednesday morning, my partner, who was going through similar experiences and feelings herself, and I agreed that we would take this opportunity, before ‘settling down’, to do it. We were going to follow our dreams and travel for the next year.
Only a month after signing a new 12-month rental lease, we were now looking at what was required to end it. It all moved very quickly from this point on, and organising things all the things to pack up your life and put it in a storage unit fell into place. A sense of ease crept back into my life, it was as though I was being acknowledged for the choice that was made, one that I knew deep down was aligned with the next chapter of my story.
Now, just over 2 months into this adventure, I can see how all the events at the start of the year were working for me. It’s an interesting perspective you can often gain only from a higher or different perspective. I’d be lying if I said that it was all smooth sailing, there have certainly been obstacles and many lessons learnt along the way. But that is what the dream was, to experience life in all its fullness.
Follow Your Dream
If you have an opportunity to follow a dream, I would encourage you to surrender to it. Allow the mystery of your story to unfold in front of you. Should you be unsure on the next step, try using the tools below.
Meditate: Start by setting an intention for the meditation, this may be a question or life situation. Once that is clear in your mind, move into a meditation observing your thoughts and feelings to see what arises and allow this to guide you.
Feel into your heart and what truly resonates for you, discern what feels right, trust it and act on it.