Note from Karisa: This guest post is penned by Dana Siblisky.  When the psychiatrist turned stay at home mom and blogger contacted me about guest posting on Flirting with the Globe, she immediately had my attention.  The post she pitched to me wasn’t about one of her favorite far-flung travel destinations.  In fact, it wasn’t about a travel experience at all.  Dana wanted to blog about the fact that she didn’t travel.  Specifically, her regret for failing to push herself to travel years ago when she had every opportunity available to do so.  I loved her idea since the purpose behind Flirting with the Globe is to motivate others to push themselves outside their comfort zone and travel often.  Dana offers a unique perspective as to why you shouldn’t let your daily grind hold you back from traveling and why you should travel now.  I couldn’t agree more.  Carpe Diem.  I hope this post motivates you to book that trip of a lifetime you’ve been dreaming about!

Travel While You Can

My life is pretty smooth and easy-going. I’ve settled down with my family and I enjoy what life brings while in the company of the ones who are close to my heart. One day, I was sitting outside on the porch while sipping lemonade on a hot Georgia day when a thought hit me – and boy, it hit me hard! I was staring off into space as my brain scolded me saying, “Dana Sibilsky, shame on you! You have had all the time and resources in the world and have not used them to explore!”

That voice inside my head was absolutely right and the more I thought about it, the more I became frustrated with myself. When I had my own practice as a psychiatrist before settling down and becoming a stay at home mother, I had every opportunity to venture out and see the world. Instead I spent my time working the days away and often times working the nights away, too. I took for granted the wonderful world around me that I was just now taking the time to see, even if it was only from my front porch with a delicious lemonade.

I began to think of how I could correct the error my ways have created to no avail. I certainly couldn’t begin my traveling now that I’ve settled down because my children need me. Plus, I’d hate to become one of those parents that brings a screaming child on a plane, it’s no fun for anyone and it’s downright embarrassing.

What I would do differently

We all have things we would change if we could. Perhaps you are in the same situation I was in before. Maybe you have every resource to where you could travel, but you let work and other things that create noise in your life dominate you and your time. I’ll tell you something right now that I learned from this experience: Your life is not yours if you don’t take control of it. If you let your work consume you, your family and friends confine you or your hobbies limit you, are you really living life?

I saw a shirt yesterday I wish I had gotten. It was a tie-dye shirt, I suppose to capture wondering, curious eyes toward it and then slap them in the face with a powerful message that read, “If you’re not living life on the edge, you’re taking up too much space!” If I could do anything in life over again, I’d be sure to make time to travel.  Remember: the only break life is going to give you is the break you give yourself.

Why is traveling important?

Staying in one place is truly one of the greatest handicaps a person can inflict upon themselves. By going to work, the gym, and home, or just staying in the vicinity of your city within 30 miles, you are neglecting opportunities you could have, people you could meet and experiences you could make into memories. Traveling has been known to push people out of their comfort zone, which is a terrible place to be in anyway, by requiring a person to be, well, uncomfortable. For a home-body like myself, going to new places and meeting new people is something that gets me nervous. In my case, I let not only my work, but also my fear of getting lost keep me chained to my daily “life” (which isn’t much of a life at all).

Right now, I wouldn’t change a thing about the way life is except to get back into my practice ASAP and back to my patients who miss me. I’m happy being with my family, however, there will always been that haunting thought in the back of my head of what I could have done, what I could have seen, what I could have experienced. Don’t let this happen to you. Travel.

About the Author: Dana Siblisky is a stay-at-home mother who enjoys blogging and sharing her art, wisdom and stories with her readers when she isn’t investing time into her family.  

CC Photo Credit from Flickr:  sunova-surfboards-bert-burger-photography-lifestyle-travel-landscape-indonesia-bali-bingin.