1.Choose a place, it doesn’t matter where. anywhere in the world, this world for now but maybe in the future we can expand our reach into space. For now pick a place on this planet. Done? Good.
2.Choose a day. Again you can choose any day that exists in the calender, just not February 29th. Well you can, it is a date after all, but you will be waiting for two years… I recommend spring, or autumn. When the leaves are at their brightest, dancing daily down from the heavens to lay on the cool earthy soil. When autumn happens is of course dependent on the place from your first answer. Your destination. Australia and Azerbaijan don’t share the same autumn don’t you know. Australia and Argentina do though, so you can rest assured if one of those were your destination.
3.Make a list of who should accompany you. A list of everyone you’ve ever met, dreamed of, smiled at. No, don’t just use your Facebook friend list, they aren’t friends suitable for worldly adventures. They are the people who will ‘thumbs up’ your worldly adventures. Write the list in pencil on the back of an envelope. Go through the list and cross off people with your heart, yes or no, that’s it. No reasons why, just your gut instinct. Once you tune into your heartbeat and your inner self one name will remain. Perhaps you circled that name, or stared it, but they shall be the one. If you crossed everyone off then celebrate – you are truly at peace with yourself!
4.Open your laptop, press the on button of your desktop tower, turn on your phone, take a brisk walk down to the travel agent. Do whatever you need to buy a ticket to your chosen destination in autumn. Okay, maybe summer or winter will also be okay, but I really recommend seeing the autumn leaves. Don’t forget to book the person chosen in step number 3’s ticket also. They can pay you back or you can give it as a gift, not on their birthday, but on a random Tuesday when they are suffering a bad case of the Mondays. Once you’ve booked tell no one. Keep the joy of a journey in your heart, keep it warm and wrapped up well, giving it space to grow from excitement into delight, joy, ecstasy. When you can see the trip on the horizon, when it is time to pack to organise, to leave, then you can share it, casually like you share gossip about what you read in the paper. Exhale it gently, slowly, keeping the majority of excitement within, revel in your trip internally not externally, that’s how it becomes life changing.
5.Go to the airport. Sit alone, sit with your friend, sit with your family, with a mother crying. You will be back, probably, don’t mention ‘probably’ but do think it. The world is big, its out there and you are off to see it, not to photograph and check in places, but to meet people, eat strange food, challenge your boundaries and jump into foreign piles of rusty red leaves. Say your goodbyes, wipe your tears away, and sit at the gate with a notebook and pen. Now you are ready to travel.