What Do I Want to Do If I Grow Up?
There was a time before e.mail, and cell phones (of ANY kind, smart or stupid.) Before 24-hour verbal diarrhea (which they call “news”) was oozing into your home, office, phone, transportation. Before everything was instant…
And at this time there was something called “Vacation.” It sorta followed the “On the Seventh day, he rested” principle that if you run anything too long without a break, it will eventually be useless.
Do NOT confuse it with the modern-day definition of vacation: You work from your laptop in a different location. AND feel guilty for doing so.
Why does the USA have more heart and other stress-related illnesses, suicides, and psychiatrists than probably all the other countries PUT TOGETHER? We certainly score higher ratings in these categories than we do in math, science or geography.
Don’t YOU deserve to refresh, renew, rekindle, reawaken, relax, reinvent, re-evaluate… Have a life?
Vacations should be a return to childhood. (second childhood.) Not a chance to clean the gutters, wash the windows, clean out the garage, etc. Those activities we save for weekends (which many people no longer have), but that’s a WHOLE different conversation as is “time with family.”
So HOW do we get a little old fashion vacation back into our lives?
When you grow up, you want to be a ___________.
Before you die, you want to ___________.
I hope “Finish the Johnston account” was not your answer to either question. If it was, you need more help than what I can offer here.
So how do we get in touch with our inner kid? How do we have a bucket (list) half full? Let’s start at the very beginning….
Pop Quiz.
Answer the two questions above. BE HONEST! Answer as a child would. (That means NO restrictions, nothings impossible) You CAN “want to be” ANYTHING you can imagine.
When I grow up, I want to be an astronaut, a professional golfer (athlete), Trapeze artist … They have clinics, workshops/camps where you can try these without four years of college.
If I grow up, I want to be a French chef, a baker extraordinaire, admire art with experts, explore with archaeologists, discuss current affairs with politicians, drive a Ferrari, fly in a jet-fighter, look for hidden treasure… These exist, and some require only a few hours.
Taste, Touch, Smell, Hear, Feel.
I have always wanted to: visit the country of my family’s origin. Stand next to/on a “Wonder” of the ancient or modern world. I want to try escargot in France, dim sum in China. Smell steaks grilling at a ranch in Argentina, and taste wine in New Zealand. Savor salmon in Alaska, or experience chilled vodka in Russia. I can see myself, sipping sun-downers while watching animals migrate across an African savanna.
I want to see the highest mountain, the deepest ocean, the widest river, the tallest waterfall. The green of the Amazon, the blue of the Aegean, the golden Buddha.
What is it like to feel a silk carpet a Turkish girl wove by hand. How does it feel to volunteer at an orphanage or school and see the smiles for something we take for granted? Do you want to hold a koala in your arms and realize they’re not THAT soft?
Or donate time or money to build wells in villages 6 miles from the closest source of freshwater. Do you want to make a difference? What is it like to experience the world and maybe put something back in it?
But How?
Write it down. Say it will happen and DO NOT give up on the dream.
Find out where it is and how much it costs. The more unusual the experience, usually the more the experience costs. But DON’T GIVE UP if your family is not at the top of the Forbes list.
Maybe you cannot afford a chateau in Tuscany or a month in Australia. Is that private jet to the wonders of the world a little steep? See if there is a cruise where you can be a _____ for a day at a group rate. For instance, a chef in France, Ice climber in Alaska, or a golfer at St Andrews in Scotland. Cruises may offer temple exploring in Mexico, even a photo safari in Africa.
There are wine-tasting tours, cooking classes, architecture studies, ruin climbing with archaeologists, jungle exploring with botanists and many others.
There are group trips to Tuscany, to Australia and the other wonders of the world. The more people there are, usually the lower the price is.
Give and Receive
“Giving back” programs have also become very popular in the touring industry. You can volunteer a day and give a little sweat and muscle.
Donate supplies or offer professional help such as teaching or medical help.
If you’re not the type to sleep in a tent, but want to help, offer financial support. These include everything from orphanages to saving UNESCO World Heritage sites.
It is NOT an impossible dream.
You may grow up, but hold on to the dreams from your childhood.
Apply
Once you know what/where you want to go, then make it happen. Only you can do that.
Maybe you can no longer climb the Matterhorn but see it.
So you can’t make a souffle, that shouldn’t stop you from tasting one.
Feel the warm waters of the Caribbean, even if you have to slather on 60+ sun lotion.
Supporting Inspiration.
Are you willing to give up a few designer coffees (at $6+) to see coffee growing in Costa Rica?
Can you forgo a few trips to the mall? Wear “that shirt” more than once, to save for a trip to one of the fashion capitals?
Do you need to eat out 7 or more times a week? Why not have fun at home trying to make pasta or Chinese or Indian cuisine. With the money you save, go on a culinary visit to that country to learn how.
Trade your “quick fixes” (that often don’t last more than an hour) for EXPERIENCES that last a lifetime.
Give up, to grow up.
Read a book or watch a movie about “it.” Post a picture where you will see “it” daily. Follow a blog on “it.”
When you BELIEVE it, you will see “it.” You will not forget “IT.”