During my mid to late teens I had occasion to meet and listen to a lot of elderly people. Perhaps it was a bit of a meme amongst them but I would often hear a common refrain, that ‘youth was wasted on the young.’
After hearing this a few times I began asking if there was anything specific that they meant by this. They would generally say that experience in life had taught them that youth is a time of less responsibility and greater vitality. I began to follow this with ‘if they had their time again, what they would do differently?’
Given that memory can be selective, my recollection is that almost every single one said they wished they had travelled more. They may well have just meant ‘as well as’ living the lives they had. I took it as an invitation to just travel.
At 19 I packed a bag and left home. I went round the world several times for the best part of 12 years, finally settling in the town where I currently live.
It wasn’t advice as such, because it wasn’t offered directly to me. It was more like a balance of information gained through observation, a weight of opinion that lingered in me until I had a moment of insight and inspiration at 19.
What it took to activate was a catalyst moment, a moment that tipped the balance. What went before that planted the seed, but what made the difference was choosing to take dramatic action when the opportunity arose.
There are many ways one can choose to live their life. This idea of Deep Potential is one such way. To be present with life, to take on board the information and experiences that come our way, and to trust in the deeper intelligence – the higher self as some will call it – the Self – the unconscious elements of the psyche. That part of us that has the capacity to hold and process and advocate for the best life – or, to phrase it better, a better expression of life.
In my experience, the value of advice has been in the fact that it has either confirmed or denied my own perspective, or experience, never because I have acted on it directly. Travel certainly broadened my mind and opened my heart, but I couldn’t say that it would do the same for anyone.
Would I advise anyone to travel? No. But I would say that in my experience travelling was a life changing experience, and one that I am grateful I had.
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