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Exploring The Inner & Outer World Through Travel

Recently I was able to interview Brandon James from NewLifeTravel.Tv

Brandon is a 23 year old who quit his comfortable corporate job in order to pick up and travel the world.  His goal?  To live the life of a global vagabond,  and search for more meaning in his life.

He also aims to live life in the moment, face doubt and fears, discover perspectives, meet others with the same vision, learn about what people want out of life, and connect with the world.  A mouthful?  Well, that’s just for starters.

I was fortunate to get him away from gallivanting up Mount Sinai, in Cairo, Egypt, just to sit down and talk to me for a few moments.

We discussed:

• What someone needs to begin to do, in order to travel the world

• Similarities between exploring the world through travel, and growing as a person

• Long-Term travel vs short term trips

• And much more…

Check out the interview below and feel free to leave any comments below:

Part 1

Exploring The Inner & Outer World Through Travel Part #1 from Veron Graham on Vimeo.

Part 2

Exploring The Inner & Outer World Through Travel Part #2 from Veron Graham on Vimeo.

Featured picture by Brandon James

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Want To Get Away?

I guess I always knew I wanted to do it.  Those days I was cooped up between the three cubicle walls, looking nervously at the clock, not sure of something.

I felt it again when I would break away from the AC’d environment, and inhale a mountain of the Florida sun washed air.  73 degrees, outside, and free.

Those lunch breaks always seemed to end too quickly.  But whatever they whispered to my soul during the fleeting 30 minutes of gulping down an overpriced sandwich, seemed to remain, locked in stomach’s cage like a restless hummingbird.

We’ve all felt it.  The desire to get away.  This is the stuff they write songs about…right?

Come away with me. Leaving on a midnight train to Georgia.  On the road again.

(If this bit of travel song trivia is your cup of tea, check out 30 songs that catch the spirit of travel.)

Many have felt this urge.  To catch the next train to wherever…Board the plane to a far away place.  Jump in your car and just hit the highway.  And sometimes the farthest journeys we end up taking happen inside of us.  From our mind to our hearts.

What is it that calls us away anyway?  What exactly is it that we want to run from?

There are many reasons people travel, but I think fundamentally there seems to be a “primordial” need to explore our world.

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.

-Mark Twain

What is interesting is how a physical trip metaphorically speaks to so many other things in our life.  Life itself is a journey of sorts, and we’re always tempted to take the easy road.  The paths with less risk.  Avoiding the choices that don’t take us too far away from home.  Keeping us near the safe and familiar.

I mean there’s nothing wrong with home, but lately, I’ve been flirting with the idea of traveling outside of the USA for an extended period of time.  And I can sense the tension inside.  The uncertainty, the slight apprehension with the unknown.

But there’s also the thrill of discovering new things, people and culture.  Experiencing what some consider true education.

There are also some very practical benefits associated with the type of travel I am considering.

• I’d like to reduce cost of living significantly, and live more simply

• Focus more on building sources of income that are location independent(i.e. online businesses, etc)

• Write more

• Save money, destroy debt(sounds more violent..I mean, somethings are meant to be killed)

• Experience new cultures & languages

• Spend time in more service projects

I wish I could say that I am independently wealthy, and could travel the world on a whim, but we’re working on that!  For now, I am using a bit of creativity to figure out how to make this happen, and educating myself on the options available(Like interviewing friends who are actually traveling the world: Interview w/Brandon James from newlifetravel.tv will be posted here on March 1st,2010)

One possibility, that can facilitate some of these goals, is to teach English abroad.  I have some friends who have taught or are teaching in Asia, and other parts of the world, and I have heard many great things.  Depending on where you teach, your cost of living can be comparably much lower, living facilities paid for, fairly competitive salaries, and the opportunity to experience a new culture, language, and geography.  And although I have visited places in the Caribbean, Canada, and cities across the U.S, there is so much of the world I have not seen, and desire to see.

Check out: Footprints or Teachaway for more info on teach abroad opportunities. Nomadic Matt has a pretty informative 5 part series on how to make money teaching overseas.  Link here

Being able to work overseas, in a program that affords you enough vacation time and flexibility to do some traveling in adjacent territories, while earning, saving, and building your business part-time, in order to do more sustained traveling, is really a tempting scenario.  I’m in the middle of exploring my options, and will post the developments here each step of the way.

Any thoughts, experiences, or advise on how to best get away?

Interesting travel related websites/blogs you may want to check out:

New Life Travel (Interview w/the founder of this blog, coming in a couple days.)

Art of Non-Conformity

Thrilling Heroics

Brave New Traveler

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Stuck in No Man’s Land

No man’s land can be a dangerous place, and exhilarating at the same time.
Especially when this stretch of unclaimed territory separates two waring nations, ideologies and people.  People found traveling from one nation to another, in passing through this neutral zone, can be tempted to set up shop there, and forgo the commitment of moving to their new destination.

I can’t remember a time where I was aware of being in a literal unclaimed territory. Metaphorically speaking, however, I feel like I am in one now.  An exodus of sorts is underway.  The land where assumptions, and deeply rooted, unchallenged religious practices held sway, has become the barren middle earth, as I travel in search of something better.  Each milestone marks questions raised, and answers given.  They have also lunged me further along the path to owning and understanding more clearly what it is I believe.

With greater light often comes greater responsibility, and so at times, the temptation is to turn my attention to the issues at hand.   It’s a state that I’m realizing can be a tempting place to reside, but not a very productive place to remain.

I’ve found myself at times pretty tired of traditional religion, and in my efforts to pursue something more meaningful, I’ve found myself, away from church for periods of time.  Sometimes its easy to get stuck in the rut of seeing only the negative aspects of traditionally practiced Christianity, and not really progressing forward to whatever better ideal one has identified.  And sometime those ideals, remain ideals, and dont find the light of actual practice.  That’s a frustrating place to be.

Be That Change You Desire To See, In A Practical Way

Now I do agree that recognizing the truth about where one is in life is an important aspect to moving forward. I believe its the first step in discovering the truth for yourself, and for many people, just this step is a difficult one.  But remaining in that place of negativity, although seemingly warranted, doesn’t realize or produce a solution.

This takes courage to actually move from the place where you were, journey through that territory of only seeing what was negative in your past, and crossing into a land where you are actively “being the change” you believe is right for this world.

And that’s the truth as I’m currently seeing it…

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