One of my biggest pet peeves is listening to someone relay an amazing trip with no sense of gratitude. As someone who has always wanted to travel, I love to hear about other's adventures, but when they don't realize how lucky they are to have been on those adventures it really bothers me. Jealousy kicks in, and usually I don't say anything out loud, but in my head I am screaming "WHY aren't you more grateful for this amazing opportunity?!"
Personally I never left the country (other than Quebec, Canada, which is 30 minutes from my house) until I was 18. Most Americans wouldn't consider the Bahamas an exotic or priveleged location to travel to, but I cried when I found out that I had the opportunity to go. Travel is what I want to do with my life, so any opportunity to get out of Dodge is exciting. I also cried when I left Jordan. I was so happy to have witnessed Jordan with my own two eyes and done such amazing things. I saw one of the seven wonders of the world, I rode a camel for 6 hours, I saw the promised land, and flew on a plane. It was the most amazing thing I've ever done, which is why I want to travel so much more. So I cried, along with about 10 other students who were feeling the same gratitude.
I'm not saying that you need to be so moved by your journey abroad that you start crying, but realizing how lucky you are to have been there in the first place is important. A relatively very few amount of people will travel the world today. Age, gender, sexual orientation, education, nationality, race, and especially finances all come into play when determining if you can or can't travel to another country. While in Jordan, our tour guide told us that his friends had applied for a visa to visit the United States numerous times, but had never been approved simply due to their Middle Eastern nationality. I felt very privileged learn that I was able to visit their country, but they were unable to visit mine due to something as silly as where they were born.
The fact that we live during a time where travel is even accessible is amazing too. 250 years ago, I would probably never seen outside of my home state, let alone another continent. Photographs wouldn't have been available either. I would have to rely on stories from the rare other person who has seen these amazing places. We are truly blessed to be living in a time where we can even complain about not being able to travel for the past few months.
Even something as simple as being a woman can determine where it is and isn't safe for you to travel. Places like Thailand and Vietnam are famously safe havens for solo female travelers, but I would be very nervous to travel to Russia or South Africa alone, where women are sometimes targeted for violent crimes.
In times like these it is easy to dwell on what we don't have, or what we're missing out on. I was supposed to intern in Singapore and then take a trip across Thailand, Vietnam, and Laos this summer, but due to COVID-19 it never happened. I could sit around all day feeling sorry for myself, but that wouldn't get me anywhere. Its frustrating that I may have lost the opportunity to use the grant money I won to go to Singapore, or that I haven't been to as many countries as some ungrateful people I know. However, I don't want to end up like these people who don't appreciate what they have.
Being grateful and seeing the positive in our lives has shown in countless studies to be beneficial to mental health. During all this craziness that is the COVID-19 pandemic, we need to stay positive more than ever. Despite being completely hindered from accomplishing my dreams right at the prime time of my life to travel, I am still grateful. I'm grateful for my health, the roof over my head, the food in my belly, my loving family, and of course the couple of places that I have traveled to already. There are millions of people across the world who would kill for the things I have. I also know that maintaining those things, such as my health, are a great part of making sure I can pursue my dreams in the future.
Things are grim right now, but if we are patient we will be rewarded when the time comes. All we can do now is enjoy the little things in life like Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream from the grocery store, phone calls with good friends, snuggling with our pets, etc. Personally, I have been keeping a gratitude journal and writing down things that are positive, that make me happy, or that I'm grateful for. Its a great way to stay positive and keep your mind off the negative. You'll always be searching for good things if you are trying to fill your gratitude journal. It is also helpful to have something to go to when you're feeling down. Looking back through your list or thoughts in the journal can help remind you of how you are blessed instead of how you are stressed. I might pick one memory and surround myself with it. I'll place myself in that happy moment and focus on it intensely, only on the good things. It is an easy way to meditate positivity into your life.
So how do YOU stay positive? Have you ever kept a gratitude journal? And what are you looking forward to next week and next year?
Remember to bring compassion wherever you go,