ይህን ካልኩ በኋላ፣ የጊዜ ጥቁር ጉድጓድ የመሆን ከቲቪ ጋር ተመሳሳይ አቅም አለው። ሕይወትዎን ለማበልጸግ ይጠቀሙበት፣ ነገር ግን ምን ያህል እንደሚጠቀሙበት ቆብ ያድርጉ እና ከዚያ ህይወት ወጥተው መኖር ይችላሉ። አንዱን ስክሪን በሌላ መተካት (ከሰው ጋር ለመወያየት ስትጠቀምም) ከገሃዱ አለም ማምለጥ ብቻ ነው፣ ይህም የበለጠ ቆንጆ ነው።
13. ወደ ውጭ ውጣ እና ከሌሎች ሰዎች ጋር አንድ ነገር አድርግ
በአለም ላይ የምወደው ድህረ ገጽ Couchsurfing.org ነው, ምክንያቱም በእሱ ላይ ትንሽ ጊዜ ስለማጠፋ ነው. ቋንቋዎቼን እንዲጠብቁ ሰዎችን እንዳስተናግድ እና አስደሳች ሰዎችን እንድፈልግ በመፍቀድ የጉዞ ህይወቴን በእጅጉ አቅልሎታል።
ሊለማመዱበት የሚገባው ዓለም በመጽሐፍ ወይም በቲቪ ወይም በኮምፒተር ስክሪኖች ውስጥ የለም። ከሌሎች ሰዎች ጋር ነው። ዓይን አፋር መሆንህን አቁም እና ውጣና አገኛቸው!
14. እንግሊዘኛ ብቻ መናገር በሚያስገርም ሁኔታ ቱሪስት ላልሆኑ ተጓዦች ብቻ የተወሰነ ነው።
ለሳምንቱ መጨረሻ ሀገርን እየጎበኘህ ከሆነ፣ ሆቴልህን ገብተህ ውድ በሆነ ሬስቶራንት ውስጥ ምግብ ማዘዝ እና በእንግሊዝኛ የሚመራ ጉብኝት ማድረግ ትችላለህ። በአገር ውስጥ ዩኒቨርሲቲ የተማሩ ጓደኞችን ማፍራት እና በተሳካ ሁኔታ ከአካባቢው ቋንቋ እርስዎን እስከፈለጉት ጊዜ ድረስ እርስዎን ለመጠበቅ አረፋ ይፍጠሩ እና ነገሩ እንደዚህ ነው ብለው በማሰብ እራስዎን ያታልላሉ ።
ነገር ግን በደንብ በተማረው ክፍል ብቻ በጥልቅ ደረጃ መስተጋብር መፍጠር መቻልን ከወሰንክ የአካባቢውን ባህል በፍፁም አትለማመድም ። እንግሊዘኛ ተናጋሪ ተጓዦች በጣም ያመልጣሉ - እንግሊዘኛ አለመናገር አብዛኞቹን ጉዞዎቼን ይገልፃል እና የአገሬውን ቋንቋዎች ለመማር ካልሞከርኩ ያጋጠሙኝ አስደናቂ ገጠመኞች የማይቻል ይሆኑ ነበር።
ማንም ሰው ቋንቋ መማር ይችላል። 21 ዓመቴ እያለሁ ማድረግ እንደማልችል አስቤ ነበር፣ ግን አንድ ቀን ሁሉንም የቢኤስ ሰበቦች ወደ አንድ ጎን አስቀምጬ ተናገርኩት። ቋንቋን ከመጀመሪያው ቀን ጀምሮ መናገር በፍጥነት እና በማንኛውም እድሜ ለመማር 'ሚስጥር' ነው።
15. የዘመናዊው የውጭ ባሕል የእርስዎን አመለካከቶች ማሟላት የለበትም
በዓለም ላይ ያሉ አገሮች ሁሉ እየዘመኑ ናቸው ነገርግን ይህ ማለት ግን ምዕራባውያን ወይም አሜሪካዊያን ናቸው ማለት አይደለም። ልዩ የሚያደርጋቸው ስለእነሱ ያለዎትን የቱሪስት-ብሮሹር እይታ ማርካት የለበትም። አላዋቂ የሆኑ አስተሳሰቦችን ወደ ጎን ትተህ በዚህ ባሕል ውስጥ የዘመናዊ ህይወት እንዴት እንደሚመስል አእምሮህን ክፍት አድርግ።
ሁሉም የአየርላንድ ሰዎች አይጠጡም ፣ ሁሉም ብራዚላውያን ሳምባ አይደሉም እና እግር ኳስ ይጫወታሉ ፣ እና ጀርመኖች ፣ ደች ፣ ፊሊፒኖዎች እና ሌሎች ስለእነሱ ያለዎትን ግምት በአውሮፕላን ማረፊያው ላይ ከተዉት ያስደንቃችኋል።
ልዩነቶቹን አክብሩ፣ ከነሱ ጋር ለመላመድ ይሞክሩ እና ለእነሱ በብዙ መልኩ ወደ ኋላ የቀሩ ሊመስሉ እንደሚችሉ ይገንዘቡ።
16. ጊዜዎን ይውሰዱ
“በቀላሉ መሄድ” ባለባቸው አገሮች ውስጥ በመኖር የተማርኩት አንድ ነገር ቢኖር በሕይወታቸው ፍጥነት ከሌሎቻችን የበለጠ ጥበበኞች መሆናቸውን ነው። ሁሉንም ነገር በፍጥነት የሚሠሩ ሰዎችና አገሮችም የባሰ ያደርጋሉ። በቀላሉ ይውሰዱት እና ቀስ ብለው ይሂዱ.
በእያንዳንዱ ንክሻ ይደሰቱ ፣ በዝግታ ይራመዱ እና አካባቢዎን ይውሰዱ ፣ ሌላው ሰው በትኩረት ሲያዳምጡ ንግግሩን እንዲጨርስ ያድርጉ እና በእኩለ ቀንዎ ላይ ያቁሙ ፣ ዓይኖችዎን ይዝጉ ወይም ተፈጥሮን ይመልከቱ እና አተነፋፈስዎን ይወቁ።
17. ሁሉንም ሰው ማስደሰት አይችሉም
"የስኬት ሚስጥር አላውቅም ነገር ግን የውድቀት ሚስጥር ሁሉንም ሰው ለማስደሰት መሞከር ነው" - ቢል ኮስቢ
አስተያየትዎን ይግለጹ እና በጠመንጃዎ ላይ ይጣበቃሉ. በቂ እርግጠኛ ከሆንክ እና ሃሳብህን በበቂ ሰዎች ካካፍልህ ምንም ብታወራ ሰው ላይ ምልክት ታደርጋለህ ። ያ የነሱ ችግር እንጂ ያንተ አይደለም።
18. አሪፍ ለመሆን መሞከር ወይም አዝማሚያዎችን መከተል አእምሮ ለሌላቸው በጎች ነው።
የእኩዮች ግፊት የግልነታቸውን ለሚፈሩ ሰዎች ነው። ለራስህ ተነሳ፣ እና በጣም ጥሩ እንደሆነ የሚሰማህ ከሆነ ፍሰቱን ተቃወመ። አሁን ጥሩ የሆነው በጥቂት አመታት ውስጥ ይቀዘቅዛል።
19. ስህተቶችን ያድርጉ - እና ብዙዎቹ!
ስህተቶች የምንማርበት መንገድ ናቸው። ውድቀቶች የስኬት ደረጃዎች ናቸው ።
20. የፀሐይ መከላከያ ይልበሱ
ከምር። ቆዳዎን ይጠብቁ. በዚህ ቪዲዮ ውስጥ ያንን እና ሁሉንም ምክሮች ይከተሉ።
21. ብዙ ማሰብ አቁመህ እርምጃ ውሰድ
ሰዎች በሕይወታቸው ውስጥ ሊደረግ የሚገባውን ነገር ሁሉ ለማድረግ የራሳቸውን መንገድ ያስባሉ። በመጨረሻዎቹ ዓመታት ውስጥ ብዙ እንደሰራሁ የሚሰማኝ ምክንያት በትክክል አንድ አስፈላጊ ነገር ማድረግ አለብኝ ወይስ እንደሌለብኝ ከመጠን በላይ ለመተንተን ምን ያህል ጊዜ እንደምሰጥ ነው፡ ምንም።
22. በተቻለ መጠን ዳንስ እና ዘምሩ
መደነስ እና መዘመር ታላቅ የተለቀቁ እና የገለጻ ቅርጾች ናቸው። ከሁለቱም ክፍለ ጊዜ በኋላ ጥሩ ስሜት ላለመሰማት ከባድ ነው!
23. አዳዲስ ጓደኞችን ማፍራት ቀላል ነው እናም የአሁኑን ማድነቅም እንዲሁ
የስምንት አመታት ጉዞዬ ብቻዬን ነበር። በብዙ አጋጣሚዎች አንድ ጓደኛዬ ሳይጠብቀኝ ወደ አዲስ ሀገር እደርሳለሁ። ምንም አይነት ግንኙነት የለኝም፣ ግን ለማንኛውም አደርጋቸዋለሁ። በመስመር ላይ ፓርቲ አግኝቼ በቀጥታ ወደ እሱ ሄጄ ለሁሉም ሰው ሰላም እላለሁ። ብዙም ሳይቆይ፣ በጋለ ስሜት ከሞከርኩ፣ በመደበኛነት አብሬያቸው የምግባባቸው ሰዎችን አገኛለሁ።
ተግባቢ፣ እውነተኛ እና ቆንጆ ከሆንክ ከሁሉም ባህል እና ዳራ ካሉ ሰዎች ጋር ጓደኝነት መመሥረት ይቻላል።
በቤተሰብ፣ በኔትወርኮች፣ በስራ እና በትምህርት ቤት ባልደረቦች፣ በሌሎች ጓደኞች፣ ክለቦች እና ማህበረሰቦች የተከበቡ ሰዎች የ… አካል ሲሆኑ ንገረኝ አዳዲስ ሰዎችን ማግኘት በጣም ከባድ እንደሆነ ንገረኝ በዙሪያቸው ያሉትን እድሎች ለማንቃት እነሱን በጥፊ መምታት እንደምፈልግ ይሰማኛል። ዙሪያህን ተመልከት!
24. እስኪያልቅ ድረስ ምን እንዳለህ አታውቅም።
ምንም ነገር እንደ ቀላል ነገር አይውሰዱ። አንድ ምሽት ለመጠለያ ገንዘብ መክፈል አልቻልኩም እና በድንጋዩ የተነሳ ከቤት ውጭ መተኛት ነበረብኝ። ከዚያን ጊዜ ጀምሮ አልጋ፣ ሶፋ ወይም መዶሻ፣ ምንም ያህል ትንሽም ይሁን የትም ቢሆን፣ ከሌለኝ ምን እንደሚመስል ስለማውቅ አደንቃለሁ። አንድ ምሽት እኔን ለማቃጠል በቂ ነበር - አሁን ወደ መኝታ በሄድኩ ቁጥር የትንፋሽ ትንፋሽ አነባለሁ።
ለሁለት ሳምንታት ያህል በጆሮ ኢንፌክሽን ምክንያት በከፊል ደንቆሬ ሄድኩ እና የመስማት ችሎታዬን እና በዙሪያዬ ያሉትን ቆንጆ ድምፆች የበለጠ አመሰግናለሁ ምክንያቱም ስለተመለሰልኝ. ከበርካታ አመታት በኋላ የምጠቀምበትን የተፈረመ ግንኙነት አድናቆትም አግኝቻለሁ።
ከእኔ ጋር የሚቀራረብ ሰው አጥቼ አላውቅም፣ ነገር ግን የቤተሰቦቼን አባላት አቅፌ ባገኘሁት አጋጣሚ ሁሉ እንደምወዳቸው እነግራቸዋለሁ፣ እናም ማንኛውንም መጥፎ አየር ከጓደኞቼ ጋር አጸዳለሁ እናም ስሜቴን ለእነሱ ከማካፈል ወደኋላ አልልም። ሕይወት በጣም አጭር ናት - ለእኔ አንድ አስፈላጊ ነገር ከጠፋብኝ ከዚያ ከእሱ ወይም ከእሷ ጋር ያለኝን ጊዜ እንዳላጠፋ እርግጠኛ መሆን እፈልጋለሁ።
25. ኩራትህን ዋጥ እና ይቅርታ ጠይቅ
ቂም አትያዙ እና እያንዳንዱን ክርክር ለማሸነፍ በጭራሽ አይሞክሩ። አንዳንድ ጊዜ ከአንድ ሰው ጋር አየርን ለማጽዳት ሲባል ኩራትዎ እንዲንሸራተት መፍቀድ ጥሩ ነው። ይቅርታ ለመንገር የመጀመሪያ ይሁኑ። ሌላው ሰው የመጀመሪያውን እንቅስቃሴ እስኪያደርግ ድረስ በጭራሽ አትጠብቅ ።
26. ሰዎችን ለመማረክ የተለየ ነገር ማድረግ ሞኝነት ነው።
ለእነሱ የዳንስ ዝንጀሮ ለመሆን ከሞከርክ ሰዎች የምትፈልገውን ማረጋገጫ በፍጹም አይሰጡህም። ምን ያህል ቋንቋ እንደምትናገር፣ ምን ያህል ሀብታም እንደሆንክ፣ ማንን እንደምታውቅ፣ የት እንደተማርክ ወይም ለኑሮ የምታደርገውን ወይም ሌላ ሰው እንዲወድህ ለማድረግ መሞከር ወይም ለእነዚህ ነገሮች መሥራት ለጉራ ብቻ መሥራት የምር ያሳዝሃል።
ሰዎች እነሱን ለመማረክ በማይሞክሩ እና ለራሳቸው ምቹ እና ማህበራዊ እና አስደሳች በሆኑ ሰዎች ይደነቃሉ። አንዳንድ ጊዜ "አስደሳች" ለመሆን ማድረግ ያለብዎት ጥሩ አድማጭ መሆን ብቻ ነው።
27. ሰዎች ብቻቸውን ብቻቸውን አይደሉም
እንደ የረጅም ጊዜ ብቸኛ ተጓዥ ከሚጠየቁኝ በጣም ተደጋጋሚ ጥያቄዎች አንዱ ብቸኝነት ከተሰማኝ ነው። መልሱ አጭሩ አይደለም ነው። ረጅም መልስ በራሱ አንድ ሙሉ ልጥፍ ያስፈልገዋል።
የጉዳዩ እውነታ ግን ብቸኝነት በአለም ላይ ቀደም ሲል ካሰብኩት በላይ በጣም የተለመደ ነው። በዩኒቨርሲቲዬ ውስጥ (ቋሚ) ህይወቴ አሁን ካለኝ የበለጠ ብቸኛ ነበርኩ። እና ማንም እንደማያገኛቸው ስለሚሰማቸው ብቸኝነት የሚሰማቸው ሰፊ የማህበራዊ ቡድኖች አውታረ መረቦች ያሏቸው ብዙ ሰዎችን አገኛለሁ።
ከዚያም አኗኗራቸውን በሆነ መንገድ የቀየሩ (በጉዞ ሳይሆን ምናልባትም ትዳር ወይም ከባድ ሥራ የጀመሩ) እና በዚህ ምክንያት ከሁሉም የልጅነት ጓደኞቻቸው ጋር ግንኙነት ያጡ፣ ብቸኝነትም ይሰማቸዋል።
እንደዚህ የሚሰማቸው እነሱ ብቻ እንደሆኑ እርግጠኛ የሆኑ ብዙ ሰዎችን አነጋግሬያቸዋለሁ። ተመሳሳይ ታሪክ በሰማሁ ቁጥር ፖሊሶችን በጭንቅላቴ እሰማለሁ “ብቻዬን በመሆኔ ብቻዬን አይደለሁም…” ብታምኑም ባታምኑም ስሜ ማን እንደሆነ ከሚያውቅ ሰው በሺህ ኪሎ ሜትሮች ርቀት ላይ ስሆን ይህ በጣም የሚያጽናናኝ ሆኖ አግኝቼዋለሁ። ምንም እንኳን ማንም ሰው በተመሳሳይ ሁኔታ ውስጥ ባይሆንም፣ በአለም ላይ ያጋጠሙኝ ሰዎች ብዛት እንዲህ ባለ ሁኔታ ውስጥ እኔ ብቻ ሳልሆን በዛ ሰከንድ እንኳን ሳይቀር ይነግሩኛል።
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28. I beg to differ love is all you need. We don't need Love from others true however SELF LOVE is what has made you travel as you are listening to yourself. All we need is love love love love is all we need. Good on you.
Great article! Thanks for sharing and keep doing what you do!
What a great article. I only travel once or twice a year, primarily to Spain, but I do have a wide variety of friends all over the spectrum - male, female, black, white, christians, muslims, atheists, gay, lesbian, straight, bisexuals, some of the above rolled into one person - and I wouldn't wanna be without them.
Though I'm not fluent in Spanish (I know a few words and phrases) I always try to become a part of the Spanish culture and I always feel very welcome, even with my limited Spanish, people like it when you at least TRY and also when you meet them in their world.
thank u...That's one of the best and wonderful article I've ever read Benny.
dear benny,how fascinating,so much one can learn from travelling..i would like to travel myself,and have the funds for it.. i am a practising medical doctor in mumbai,india,working in a charitable clinic.
home is beneath the stars!and stars are everywhere in the world.i would love to meet benny.
you are welcome at my home in mumbai,if you should visit it.we are jains by religion.
purvimshah@hotmail.com.
thank you benny,
traveled 40 years ago for seven years like you, backpacking and with nearly no money at all, now after the 'working periode' again on my way since 2 years and the insight in all what you wrote is just the same:
you are a wise young man and I do know that many travellers and people going their way with open eyes and no prejudice in mind and open heart and willing to see and to learn will appreciate your comments.
(european traveller klaus, 66 years)
i've really enjoyed your article Benny - very inspiring and enriching!
Happy Travelversary! Lovely, upbeat post though the last point I partially am forced to disagree with simply because not everyone has the luxury of being able to travel or just fly somewhere to immerse yourself in a new culture; people are blessed in different ways and you can only play with the cards you are dealt. Otherwise lovely!
And yes, everything apart from the travelling part too. Much respect to you man
You have no idea how much I appreciated this blog thingy. Travelling is one of my passions and I want to travel as much as possible in the near future. I'm 19 right now and studying!
Quick question, how do you fund for all your travels and stays and all that?
don't make too many plans, the places will make them for you.
don't make too many plans, the places with make them for you.
Wonderful - thank you xx
YUP, it's the journey, to experience!
Love is my religion no matter what country I traveled to! =o) TOTALLY AWEsome!
My experience is that those who travel seek escape from reality for a variety of reasons. Some may say it's because of the cultural experiences, the meeting of new people, the freedom of daily tasks, etc. but it's really about the fact that they aren't happy with who they are and what they have in their life. No photographs, necklaces, clothing, social understanding is going to make you any happier than you are today right where you are. It's like a drug addict seeking another fix. You want to save a lot of money and be happy? Don't travel and make what you have now your happiest moment.
In my 70s and still traveling, still discovering for myself many of the things Benny describes. Every year I relearn two fascinating truths about "travel that inspires." Bring less stuff with you, and don't plan very far ahead.
Nice... Being a Pilot and travelling, I couldn't understand why there's so much non-acceptance in this world.We have no control over our thoughts, it's origin, etc to 'some extent'. But what we can learn to do is control our emotions and help others find their way. After all that's what all cultural traditions (religions as some call them) profess. Then......... I learnt
Benny, in your experiences..... that's what H.H. Sri Sri Ravishankar has been doing for nearly 30 years with His foundation www.artofliving.org . Keep up the good work Benny. Love,
Fuzzy
www.aolreasearch.org
Love you Benny Lewis - thanks for the inspiration. Michele in Michigan, USA
my travels have taught me so many things. but one big realisation is......nature is wonderful. it showers itself on everyone in the same way. it is not partial. standing next to a huge mountain, or a deep forest, or vast ocean makes me relaise the insignificance of my selfish self. if nature can support so many beings within it, then why cant we? we r nature too and in our own way we need to be open and supportive of all. life is truly beautiful, lets live it in its simple form rather than complicating it. lets live the way other natural beings r living.
Thanks so much for sharing, this is a great article!
Thanks for your great insights! I know the next 29 will be even better for you!
Benny, I always wanted to travel and have never had much money in life, so I made a determined effort to reach out & meet people of different cultures through my various jobs in retail. My life is sooooo much richer for it. I've made many friends, laughed & danced, and even learned a smattering of many different languages. And I learned the same things you have (well, except for #9 re money). I guess you could say start at home, and then travel (or as you travel & bring your lessons home to share with others) and then the end to discrimination, racism, etc will end around the world. There is no "self " & "other", there is just "us"!
This is an amazing article - thanks so much for sharing! A student myself, I can very much relate with some of the points you make about learning it all and yet not understanding the world thoroughly and in all its beautiful nuances. Keep up the great attitude of living by example. One quote which came to mind while reading your article was:
"Don't ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive." Howard ThurmanAlso I just shared the video and linked back to your article on The HappyHap Project Blog. You can check it here: http://happyhap.tumblr.com/....
Benny Great Work on sharing your Experience with the world! I can imagine you started out your travels with an open mind and that is why you have gotten so far and learn t so much.
I grew up in Africa and so i understand where your appreciation for life comes, not from materialism but for the Gift of Life itself.
Benny, one of the important lessons I've learned while traveling is never assume that someone else is thinking the same as I am. Because of cultural differences, what is obviously white to me may be obviously black to someone from a different culture. Hope you find your companion to share your life and travels. My husband of 40+ years and I have been to 80 countries in the past 15 years and are having a blast!
Benny~ your article has inspired me more then I can tell you in this short comment. I find myself turning 50 this year and going through a sudden unplanned and heart breaking divorce! My husband and I traveled all over the United States, Canada and Mexico meeting new people and I feel in love with the human race. Until today ...about an hour ago, I felt like I had lost the the ability to experience that again. I read your article and it was as if a spark ignited inside of me...I can do this. I can continue seeing the world and enjoy it perhaps in a greater way then before. Our (my soon to be former husband) and I next trip was to Ireland, I have been really mourning that lose. Now I am looking at the trip in a different way and am cautiously excited at the possibilities! Thank you for sharing your travels and inspirational words with me.
That's one of the best and wonderful article I've ever read Benny. I may not get the chance to travel outside the country but I've learned so much from you..Thanks and have a blessed life.
wow, i am amazed. i wanted to leave my home country and start on my own by traveling around the world. This may not be happened now in my life at this time but i do hope and pray that i can step my first move in the near future. Thanks Benny for this one. applause to you! You may found one great true LOVE!
Loved every bit of the post specially the video "use sunscreen" and also completely second you on the points 6,7,8 and 25. Surprisingly i woke up this morning and started writing about my journey after college. How I gave it all up have been experimenting the past 8 yrs when this post comes through the daily good news. Its good to know that there are people like me :)...
walk lightly,smile sweetly,sing,dance and make merry.
love n peace
jumana
Love it! I especially love #16, 17, 19, and 22. Keep on truckin'! I have to say, though, #28 is not true, unless you specifically mean "romantic love." We do, in fact, need love to survive, all of us. And clearly you're finding it--by giving it, which is the whole point!
The Wanderlust by Robert William Service
The Wanderlust has lured me to the
seven lonely seas,
Has dumped me on the tailing-piles of dearth;
The Wanderlust has haled me from the morris chairs of ease,
Has hurled me to the ends of all the earth.
How bitterly I've cursed it, oh, the Painted Desert knows,
The wraithlike heights that hug the pallid plain,
The all-but-fluid silence, -- yet the longing grows and grows,
And I've got to glut the Wanderlust again.
Soldier, sailor, in what a plight I've been!
Tinker, tailor, oh what a sight I've seen!
And I'm hitting the trail in the morning, boys,
And you won't see my heels for dust;
For it's "all day" with you
When you answer the cue
Of the Wan-der-lust.
The Wanderlust has got me . . . by the belly-aching fire,
By the fever and the freezing and the pain;
By the darkness that just drowns you, by the wail of home desire,
I've tried to break the spell of it -- in vain.
Life might have been a feast for me, now there are only crumbs;
In rags and tatters, beggar-wise I sit;
Yet there's no rest or peace for me, imperious it drums,
The Wanderlust, and I must follow it.
Highway, by-way, many a mile I've done;
Rare way, fair way, many a height I've won;
But I'm pulling my freight in the morning, boys,
And it's over the hills or bust;
For there's never a cure
When you list to the lure
Of the Wan-der-lust.
The Wanderlust has taught me . . . it has whispered to my heart
Things all you stay-at-homes will never know.
The white man and the savage are but three short days apart,
Three days of cursing, crawling, doubt and woe.
Then it's down to chewing muclucs, to the water you can eat,
To fish you bolt with nose held in your hand.
When you get right down to cases, it's King's Grub that rules the races,
And the Wanderlust will help you understand.
Haunting, taunting, that is the spell of it;
Mocking, baulking, that is the hell of it;
But I'll shoulder my pack in the morning, boys,
And I'm going because I must;
For it's so-long to all
When you answer the call
Of the Wan-der-lust.
The Wanderlust has blest me . . . in a ragged blanket curled,
I've watched the gulf of Heaven foam with stars;
I've walked with eyes wide open to the wonder of the world,
I've seen God's flood of glory burst its bars.
I've seen the gold a-blinding in the riffles of the sky,
Till I fancied me a bloated plutocrat;
But I'm freedom's happy bond-slave, and I will be till I die,
And I've got to thank the Wanderlust for that.
Wild heart, child heart, all of the world your home.
Glad heart, mad heart, what can you do but roam?
Oh, I'll beat it once more in the morning, boys,
With a pinch of tea and a crust;
For you cannot deny
When you hark to the cry
Of the Wan-der-lust.
The Wanderlust will claim me at the finish for its own.
I'll turn my back on men and face the Pole.
Beyond the Arctic outposts I will venture all alone;
Some Never-never Land will be my goal.
Thank God! there's none will miss me, for I've been a bird of flight;
And in my moccasins I'll take my call;
For the Wanderlust has ruled me,
And the Wanderlust has schooled me,
And I'm ready for the darkest trail of all.
Grim land, dim land, oh, how the vastness calls!
Far land, star land, oh, how the stillness falls!
For you never can tell if it's heaven or hell,
And I'm taking the trail on trust;
But I haven't a doubt
That my soul will leap out
On its Wan-der-lust.
[Hide Full Comment]Since the question comes up a lot, I had to add it to my original blog post so I'll add it here as a comment in case someone feels the need to ask:
People keep asking me how I can afford a travel lifestyle for so long, or if I'm rich or if my parents paid for everything. I paid for the entire trip myself, starting with no money saved up; I can assure you my lifestyle is way cheaper than most settled people who prove observation #10 and need so much money to buy rubbish!
[Hide Full Comment]You don't need to be rich to travel the world. To find out more about me and my story, please read my site's About page to see a list of the many jobs I've had during my travels. For just the last one year I've been earning money by helping people to hack languages quicker.
Benny ... having been on the road for 15 years, almost without pause, having worked in 3500 communities, I find your 29 points right on track .... validated, verified, ready to be etched in stone. Keep traveling!!!
This is one of the best experiences I've ever read. Thanks Benny.. :) I think I can summarise what I've learnt from this.. "The next time I'm wid sm1 whom I don't know I'll try to talk to them, listen to them, share things and as Benny says 'meet them' rather than reading a book or listening to songs"... :)
This is GREAT ! Keep living and be who you are now that you have found him.
Benny, I want to pack my ruck sac and join you!
Thank you for this amazing wisdom
My excitement for life has been replenished!
Siobhan County Kerry
This is one of the best articles I have ever read. Thanks. The only thing I disagree with is the point about the Internet. I learn so much from it each day, this article being a case in point. I may never get the chance to travel as much as Benny has but at least I can learn from his wisdom.