Hey Alex, congrats on the journey!! You did something that you were scared to and I think that is the only way we grow. Gotta keep pushing those edges out. ;)
Absolutely no surprise or shame in that fear. It's a perfectly natural part of growth, so maybe re-frame it that way. The reward is some additional resilience in the way you are coping at home with things that might have once stressed you.
I loved reading all of your journey blogs. So interesting and entertaining and a great look into the lives of other people a distance away! Thank you for being the purveyor of that.
The incident on your airport trip sounds like a timely reinforcement for your farewell. Imagine how you would have felt if that happened on one of your first trips! Aghh!! Maybe it was the universe's (or whatever you believe in) saying.....time to go home now, shit is getting freaky. Having said that I have had my share of those incidents in safe old Newcastle (one at work and one on Glebe road). Both in the 1980s but I am sure there are some crazy guys still doing it somewhere. In a sense I agree we are all never really 100% safe, but we can look out for selves, avoid the known dangers (and again that can be a very personal perception) and and also know that each event can make us stronger. There are plenty of kind people and support available as your journey as shown us
Thanks for the taking me along on the ride! I look forward to reading more of your musings.
Annette, I can't tell you how much I appreciate you taking the time to read along, haha there was a lot to get through. And yes, I'm sorry to say that's not the first time I've had something like that has happened to me, and, yes, if nothing else I've gained some resilience. I read this great quote at the very beginning of the trip in this hostel in Honolulu. It said something along the lines of "Do not trust your fears for they do not know your strengths." I thought, if I make it through this trip, I will remember this. And I did, so here we are. :)
what an adventure Alex, a great story of overcoming fear with action and walking away with some character building experiences and great stories to be shared. I love the inspiration this has given you in your writing too, something you could never have obtained staying at home in comfort. Good on you!
Haha that's a good point, I hadn't thought of that. Before this trip, some Mondays I would struggle to come up with something to write, but for the last three months if not more, from planning to doing, I have always found topics. I just hope my readers aren't currently bored to death, with buses, trains and southern things. Now that I've finished my rough draft of the trip, I'm hoping to try to have a little bit more nuance and intention. Thank you so much for reading and commenting, Dan! :)
Alex I am so sorry you had that awful experience right at the end. Hoping the trauma of that memory fades away for you. I think you have been amazingly resilient through the whole thing and what you gathered along the way has been inspiring and thought provoking. Hope the trip bears great fruit in the years to come through your writing. There may be no safe place for anyone but hopefully there are many safe people. That’s a great gift in life. Peace to you.
Aw thanks, Linda. I'll be okay. :) Yes, I hope I can write something worthwhile out of this eventually, and I just love your last line about safe people. I'll have to quote you in a future Substack! As always thank you for reading and the encouragement, I really appreciate it.
Hey Alex, congrats on the journey!! You did something that you were scared to and I think that is the only way we grow. Gotta keep pushing those edges out. ;)
Absolutely no surprise or shame in that fear. It's a perfectly natural part of growth, so maybe re-frame it that way. The reward is some additional resilience in the way you are coping at home with things that might have once stressed you.
I loved reading all of your journey blogs. So interesting and entertaining and a great look into the lives of other people a distance away! Thank you for being the purveyor of that.
The incident on your airport trip sounds like a timely reinforcement for your farewell. Imagine how you would have felt if that happened on one of your first trips! Aghh!! Maybe it was the universe's (or whatever you believe in) saying.....time to go home now, shit is getting freaky. Having said that I have had my share of those incidents in safe old Newcastle (one at work and one on Glebe road). Both in the 1980s but I am sure there are some crazy guys still doing it somewhere. In a sense I agree we are all never really 100% safe, but we can look out for selves, avoid the known dangers (and again that can be a very personal perception) and and also know that each event can make us stronger. There are plenty of kind people and support available as your journey as shown us
Thanks for the taking me along on the ride! I look forward to reading more of your musings.
Annette, I can't tell you how much I appreciate you taking the time to read along, haha there was a lot to get through. And yes, I'm sorry to say that's not the first time I've had something like that has happened to me, and, yes, if nothing else I've gained some resilience. I read this great quote at the very beginning of the trip in this hostel in Honolulu. It said something along the lines of "Do not trust your fears for they do not know your strengths." I thought, if I make it through this trip, I will remember this. And I did, so here we are. :)
Love that quote, I'm going to steal it for my website!
OMG please do!
what an adventure Alex, a great story of overcoming fear with action and walking away with some character building experiences and great stories to be shared. I love the inspiration this has given you in your writing too, something you could never have obtained staying at home in comfort. Good on you!
Haha that's a good point, I hadn't thought of that. Before this trip, some Mondays I would struggle to come up with something to write, but for the last three months if not more, from planning to doing, I have always found topics. I just hope my readers aren't currently bored to death, with buses, trains and southern things. Now that I've finished my rough draft of the trip, I'm hoping to try to have a little bit more nuance and intention. Thank you so much for reading and commenting, Dan! :)
Alex I am so sorry you had that awful experience right at the end. Hoping the trauma of that memory fades away for you. I think you have been amazingly resilient through the whole thing and what you gathered along the way has been inspiring and thought provoking. Hope the trip bears great fruit in the years to come through your writing. There may be no safe place for anyone but hopefully there are many safe people. That’s a great gift in life. Peace to you.
Aw thanks, Linda. I'll be okay. :) Yes, I hope I can write something worthwhile out of this eventually, and I just love your last line about safe people. I'll have to quote you in a future Substack! As always thank you for reading and the encouragement, I really appreciate it.