I spent most of my twenties trying to travel as much as possible. Having been brought up in a family which never holidayed abroad, my experiences to that point had been limited to a couple of school trips to Europe and two exchange stays in Germany to improve my language skills. So, whenever I eventually did get the opportunity to travel, I had an urgent need to take in as many of the sights as I could, to absorb as much of the culture as was possible in a short stay. No opportunity was ever missed.
When we had a two centre holiday in what is now Croatia and Slovenia, but was then Yugoslavia, one of the excusions offered was a day trip by coach to Venice. It was a long way and only a few hours would be spent in the city. Hubby (who was not yet officially Hubby) had been before and didn't want to do the trip. But I had a gut feeling that it might be my only chance to see Venice so I pushed and pushed, I may even have had a little tantrum. We made the trip, the weather wasn't brilliant, but I saw Venice and I'm so glad I did.
I've been thinking a lot about seizing the moment over the last few weeks and days. Not just because of what is happening to my parents, but also because I heard some sad news at the weekend, which reminded me that we never know how long we've got to be able to do things. It's reinforced the feeling I've had recently that I need to take opportunities whenever they arise, that I want to see more of my friends, that I want to meet more of my online writing pals while I still can, that I want to concentrate solely on writing.
Because nobody ever knows what might lie just around the corner.
5 comments:
When I was growing up, our family lived on the less affluent edge of a well-to-do community. All of my classmates had the finest of everything and traveled widely (so it seemed anyway), and this built a desire in me to travel and see as much of the world as I could.
And so in my young adult life I dashed about to see this or that and ticked another location off of my list. But what I found was that while I was getting a broad exposure, I wasn't getting a deep one.
I've never been to any part of Europe (I don't think a half dozen hours in Heathrow count) but I don't think I would value a week's vacation there in the same way as I would a summer there.
You are correct, though, in that we must take every opportunity we can since we cannot know what life will throw at us.
I really can relate to this story since there had been several instances in my life when i missed some opportunities, opportunities that should have made things better. Cathy, where do you get all this passion in coming up with real good and moving stories?
Paul - you definitely need more than a week's vacation in Europe! I totally agree that rushing around you only get a superficial knowledge of other countries, deeper exposure only comes from living there for some time and absorbing the culture. But there are so many beautiful places and so little time, that even if you only recall them like a picture postcard I reckon it's worth it.
Sharry - this blog just represents snapshots of my life, both now and back then...
Hmm, I wrote a reply this morning and Blogger seems to have lost it. Let's wait and see if it reappears...
I can so relate to this post right now, Cathy. I have actually published today a post quite similar, my thoughts etc.
Seizing the moment is definitely something we should do more of. Go for it.
CJ xx
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