Friendships, Love and Goodbyes on the Road of Life

Nothing makes the earth seem so spacious as to have friends at a distance; they make the latitudes and longitudes.

~Henry David Thoreau

As a traveler, it’s hard to ignore we experience friendships a little differently on the road. Our connections tend to be much quicker, and much more intense. Last year, we had a “proper going away picnic before we left with our friends in Los Angeles. Around 40 friends from work, LA social scene, jungle [8] colleagues, close friends, casual friends, old friends and Miro’s school friends came to celebrate our decision to leave the country and wish us well. There were no tears though. Just many laughs and much loving support. Saying goodbye was part of processing our decision for our lifestyle, the little heart wrench we felt was expected.

But saying goodbye on the road is different.

The traveler knows everything is impermanent. The traveler knows that this moment is all there is. The traveler knows that in a day, everything will change. The people who come into our lives are special. They seem to know this as well and live through this. It’s like the travelers code. It is our common bond. It’s an example of living each day as if it’s the last.

I didn’t expect or even think about those implications on the onset of our travel. Logic would insist that connections between people, knowing the impermanence of it all would be superficial and impersonal and maybe even a little forced. However, what we’ve found is to the contrary. Instead of shutting down human connections, this allows greater intensity of relationships, instant friendships formed, open hearts and trust. Trust that we are all human, we are all vulnerable we are all sharing a common experience. Through travel, I have fallen in love in an instant, made great friendships, and said goodbye too many times over the past year to count. It’s been a practice of living intensely and living in the moment and yes, it does include countless “goodbyes”, but frankly, I wouldn’t have it any other way.