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Imagine if we split the worlds population into three, the rich, the average and the poor. The rich can fly anywhere anytime, the average need ample time to work and save for their trips and the poor simply cant afford to. If you are 2/3 of these categories then you are lucky. Yeah sure we can make our own luck, life is a choice but not everyone has as many choices.
I believe many people in the back of their minds know how lucky they are, whether they are grateful for it or not. It isn’t until you set sail to foreign lands, break out of your comfort zone and embark on a journey of discovery, new feelings and knowledge that you can really appreciate how lucky you are.
To travel so frequently is considered “so lucky” because it’s seemed as if you’re “living the dream” as apposed to slaving away all day at the same repetitive job day in day out.
For me personally, the fact I can spend half the year working and saving and the other half travelling, it’s pretty lucky. Yeah sure I do give up certain things in order to save, but it ain’t luck it ’s a choice. The fact that I can do this is lucky. Majority of the people I know have the same opportunity to go wherever they want, its up to them if they choose not too. They can easily do it but choose not to, or chose a while ago other options in life that prevent from doing so. It’s the people that don’t have this luxury.
Anyone can save a buy a plane ticket. We don’t think twice. For many of us it’s a given at 18 onwards we get on that plane and freedom is ours! But not everyone. We hear about it, but seeing it is different. For people I call friends this is a big deal, one in which they may never experience. It’s not until you meet them, or better yet befriend people in these circumstances that really make you appreciate how lucky we are. People my age who go to school, study or work, pay their rent and feed mouths yet still cant manage to keep some spare coin to see the world. Each dollar earned is precious and vital for their survival.
It has a lot to do with the fact that in Australia we offer a very good quality of life. We pay well and we earn well. Our schooling is reasonable, compared to other countries its fantastic! We complain about the stupidest things where unknown to us people would kill for the lives we lead.
It really hit me when I was in Budapest and someone asked me how I managed to save for this trip? He asked was it help from your parents or did you work and save yourself? When I replied I worked and managed to save this much in this amount of time, he replied with you are so lucky as most of the kids your age here wouldn’t be able to do this.
Is it a matter of them making better decisions? Go and get a better job or move somewhere that’s better?
Growing up in a certain place, or with a certain lifestyle can be very hard to break out of. Especially if it’s all you ever know – it’s not our place to make judgement on the less fortunate when we ourselves are lucky enough to be sitting here wondering where to go next.
So as travellers we are lucky and as Aussie’s we are lucky, i know that when I have a bad day i just need to remember this and suddenly my problems don’t seem as bad.
