Welcome to My Sabbatical
Over the past few months, I’ve come to realize just how much humans are like trees. Well, some humans more than others I guess. If you stay in one place long enough, you develop roots. You find yourself tied to that spot by a house, a family, a job, and the comforts of life.
Moving from that spot becomes tough. Tougher as the years go by. You’re rooted.
Let’s say that you happen across the idea of trying something new. Of going away for a while, exploring far off countries, learning new things, meeting new people, living for a bit instead of simply “getting by”. That idea grows in your head slowly over time. You meet someone who took a 9 month vacation. And your desire to take such a trip grows. But how? HOW? That’s the big question, and for many there doesn’t seem to be an easy answer. It takes time for the way to show itself.
One day your spouse has a particularly stressful day at work, and you bring up the long vacation idea. “Let’s do it” she says with a gleem in her eye. “Really?”, you say, “Reallllllly?” “Yes!”
And then you have a bad day, and she does again. Someone your own age passes away. And you get another chance to ask, “Why am I spending the best years of my life, and the majority of my energy, doing THIS?” And you realize it’s just for money.
You’d be surprised at the number of people who decide the rat race is no longer for them. Far from being rich and independently wealthy, many people who travel and explore are just resourceful or have only a few thousand dollars saved up before they take their trip. If you’re planning on staying at $300 a night 5-star hotels in Rome, perhaps you will need a lot of money saved up to do this. But if you can rent an apartment for $750 a month instead, your money will go farther. How long can $5000 last in Europe? It can last only a week, or it can last for months depending on how you spend it.
This blog is about my sabbatical in particular. But it’s also about the process of deciding you have had enough, and the plans to take an extended break from your life “here” to go live over there for a while. It’s not only doable, it may even be easily doable. Depends on your attitude really. Doesn’t it?
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