Random thoughts on travel
About a year ago, at the end of December 2013, I went to go see a film in the Cinema called "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty", and I'm not sure if it was the amazing soundtrack that moved me, or if it was the great story-line that woke me up to something new, but, what I recall from thinking about, not only during the duration of the film but also as the credits started to roll up and as I walked out of the cinema was, that life is so much more than we're led to believe... I couldn't explain exactly why, but for some reason that one phrase stuck with me for a very long time. Maybe it was because this film, or what the film was trying to portray, was very different from what we usually see. Now let me try and explain that...
Basically, from my own personal view, it seems to be that if a film contains some sort of travelling in it, it's not a big deal, whether the film has someone who travels in it or if the film itself is about travelling; it's always shown to be something nonchalant.
So, when I watched this film I realised that the people who made it know exactly what they were doing as film makers, because that's what it's supposed to do, a film is supposed to move the audience, to inspire them, to provoke great emotion in someone, to get them to think "yes, this is a fictional movie, but everything in it is possible...". We can do whatever we want to do if we just make it happen, it doesn't have to be such a big unreachable thing! There is someone out there in the world who is doing great things that seems unimaginable to us... We forget that they're just like us, we can all do the "unimaginable" and the "unthinkable" and the "impossible" as long as we crush those prefixes that make them appear unobtainable. It is imaginable, it is possible, it is obtainable, it's not a big deal! We see people we know going to visit great places with breath-taking sceneries and other overwhelming things and we think "wow, they're so lucky to see those things and to gain all that experience; I wish that were me"... It can be us, we can go visit those places, it's not as if they're off limits because it's such a beautiful place in the world. There are people who live in those places who are thinking the exact same thing as you; they've never travelled outside of their country and they'd like to see something different. You may think that there's nothing special about where you live and where you're from, but I bet there's someone who is dying to visit your part of the world and you're taking it for granted, or maybe you aren't, but we must remember that beauty is subjective to everyone's individual perspectives.
What I am trying to say is that in this film we see what some would call a normal man, in a fairly normal job, living a normal life, who embarks on an adventure that he thought was only possible in his dreams. This is what I am attempting to explain with "Life is so much more than we're led to believe.". From my point of view, and being simply a normal person in a fairly normal life, I too would dream of travelling to wonderful places and to see certain structures or natural beauties that left me speechless and quiet to just simply take it all in and breathe; so the thought of me going on an adventure and to visit such places seems totally unreal for someone like me because, all my life it has appeared to be a huge step to go somewhere new and explore the world. In this view, the phrase "Life is so much more than we're led to believe." leaves the idea that there's a whole other world out there, a whole world separate from our basic, repetitive, routine life that we're led to believe is sufficient due to the fact that it envelops us in comfort; this is what makes it seem like a huge experience and achievement, it's the process of stepping out of your comfort zone, to gain more knowledge by experiencing different cultures. But, we forget that for some, stepping out of their comfort zone could be something as simple as changing up their daily routines, let alone visiting other countries.
So, in one way, the way I saw it a year ago, going to a completely different side of the world and seeing amazing new things seemed quite the adventure, an adventure I'd love to call mine, but never truly believing that it could be.
Now, a year or so later, I find myself remembering that phrase that came to mind all that time ago, and I can honestly say that a lot of changes have occurred since then, including a change in perspective towards that phrase. Due to a recent modification in location of where I am living in the world, I realised something, something related to the way we think about things. I came to realise that life is so much more than we're led to believe , but not in the same sense as I once pictured it to be, because, they way I feel now is that we're led to believe that travelling the world is a big change and it involves courage and impulse, and most important of all, it involves completely letting go of all comforts, to then become whatever you want to be, to be dragged down no longer by your safety nets, to find room for self-growth we never thought we had; this would be the ultimate goal or dream for some people, the one thing that we know is technically possible, but we simply never get around to doing so. We idolise anyone who has lived out dream, we sit in awe, listening to their stories and experiences thinking "I wish I were brave enough to do something like that".
The meaning I now see behind the said sentence is that travelling the world and exploring what it has to offer is not a major happening, it's relatively easy. What I mean is, for some, getting on a plane and travelling all the way to a place like Cambodia is a huge experience, even if it's only for a holiday, because all their life they have been led to believe that gaining that sort of experience is rare, and that if you come across the opportunity to do something like that then you should consider yourself lucky... I considered myself lucky when I found out that I got given the opportunity to go volunteer in Cambodia and to experience new things, a new culture, completely different from my own. But, now, I realise that although I am lucky to be here in Cambodia, and I'd never take it for granted, I still think that it shouldn't be seen as something big when it's not.
When I first arrived, I was obviously expecting a culture shock because I was led to believe that when I'd arrive, the things I'd see would shock me, but they didn't, and I know that could be seen as something bad, as if I lack empathy, but I don't think that's the case. When I first arrived, I kept on thinking that I should have had a culture shock and that it was bad that I didn't have one, but, in my opinion, I didn't have a culture shock because I had already been told what to expect, I had been shown photos of things I would witness on a daily basis in the middle of the street; I knew I would see scavengers pulling carts of rubbish with a tiny baby sitting in the back amongst all the rubbish; I knew because I had been told all of the and I already knew things about the country itself and what it has been through... I was warned to expect a culture shock that I could never prepare myself for even if I tried, yet I didn't experience one.
I'm not going to say that this is the reason, but in my opinion, and it's something that has only just appeared in my head, is that maybe if you have a culture shock, it could be due to the fact that you probably never truly believed what people told you, you never truly believed that someone could be so poor and own so little, especially when you know that there are people in this world who have so much money that they accumulate certain things that have absolutely no value or necessity for them, yet they have them anyway because they can; whereas someone who does not have a lot of money won't even think about possessing those insignificant things, because all they'll think about is their necessity: food, clothes, a place to sleep that they can call home.
Anyway, getting back on track, but maybe slightly around the edges... Even though the world doesn't belong to use, we belong to the world, and we can go exploring whenever we like, it's that easy.
Yes, there are a few barriers, but not too many, not enough to hold you back. We just have to rip those roots out and see the rest of the world, because life is so much more than we're led to believe, so we should travel around to see it for ourselves.
Inspired by the movie The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (2013) Directed by Ben Stiller [Film]. UK: 20th Century Fox; along with my move to Phnom Penh, Cambodia in December 2014.
Written by Sofia Tartaglia in December 2014
Basically, from my own personal view, it seems to be that if a film contains some sort of travelling in it, it's not a big deal, whether the film has someone who travels in it or if the film itself is about travelling; it's always shown to be something nonchalant.
So, when I watched this film I realised that the people who made it know exactly what they were doing as film makers, because that's what it's supposed to do, a film is supposed to move the audience, to inspire them, to provoke great emotion in someone, to get them to think "yes, this is a fictional movie, but everything in it is possible...". We can do whatever we want to do if we just make it happen, it doesn't have to be such a big unreachable thing! There is someone out there in the world who is doing great things that seems unimaginable to us... We forget that they're just like us, we can all do the "unimaginable" and the "unthinkable" and the "impossible" as long as we crush those prefixes that make them appear unobtainable. It is imaginable, it is possible, it is obtainable, it's not a big deal! We see people we know going to visit great places with breath-taking sceneries and other overwhelming things and we think "wow, they're so lucky to see those things and to gain all that experience; I wish that were me"... It can be us, we can go visit those places, it's not as if they're off limits because it's such a beautiful place in the world. There are people who live in those places who are thinking the exact same thing as you; they've never travelled outside of their country and they'd like to see something different. You may think that there's nothing special about where you live and where you're from, but I bet there's someone who is dying to visit your part of the world and you're taking it for granted, or maybe you aren't, but we must remember that beauty is subjective to everyone's individual perspectives.
What I am trying to say is that in this film we see what some would call a normal man, in a fairly normal job, living a normal life, who embarks on an adventure that he thought was only possible in his dreams. This is what I am attempting to explain with "Life is so much more than we're led to believe.". From my point of view, and being simply a normal person in a fairly normal life, I too would dream of travelling to wonderful places and to see certain structures or natural beauties that left me speechless and quiet to just simply take it all in and breathe; so the thought of me going on an adventure and to visit such places seems totally unreal for someone like me because, all my life it has appeared to be a huge step to go somewhere new and explore the world. In this view, the phrase "Life is so much more than we're led to believe." leaves the idea that there's a whole other world out there, a whole world separate from our basic, repetitive, routine life that we're led to believe is sufficient due to the fact that it envelops us in comfort; this is what makes it seem like a huge experience and achievement, it's the process of stepping out of your comfort zone, to gain more knowledge by experiencing different cultures. But, we forget that for some, stepping out of their comfort zone could be something as simple as changing up their daily routines, let alone visiting other countries.
So, in one way, the way I saw it a year ago, going to a completely different side of the world and seeing amazing new things seemed quite the adventure, an adventure I'd love to call mine, but never truly believing that it could be.
Now, a year or so later, I find myself remembering that phrase that came to mind all that time ago, and I can honestly say that a lot of changes have occurred since then, including a change in perspective towards that phrase. Due to a recent modification in location of where I am living in the world, I realised something, something related to the way we think about things. I came to realise that life is so much more than we're led to believe , but not in the same sense as I once pictured it to be, because, they way I feel now is that we're led to believe that travelling the world is a big change and it involves courage and impulse, and most important of all, it involves completely letting go of all comforts, to then become whatever you want to be, to be dragged down no longer by your safety nets, to find room for self-growth we never thought we had; this would be the ultimate goal or dream for some people, the one thing that we know is technically possible, but we simply never get around to doing so. We idolise anyone who has lived out dream, we sit in awe, listening to their stories and experiences thinking "I wish I were brave enough to do something like that".
The meaning I now see behind the said sentence is that travelling the world and exploring what it has to offer is not a major happening, it's relatively easy. What I mean is, for some, getting on a plane and travelling all the way to a place like Cambodia is a huge experience, even if it's only for a holiday, because all their life they have been led to believe that gaining that sort of experience is rare, and that if you come across the opportunity to do something like that then you should consider yourself lucky... I considered myself lucky when I found out that I got given the opportunity to go volunteer in Cambodia and to experience new things, a new culture, completely different from my own. But, now, I realise that although I am lucky to be here in Cambodia, and I'd never take it for granted, I still think that it shouldn't be seen as something big when it's not.
When I first arrived, I was obviously expecting a culture shock because I was led to believe that when I'd arrive, the things I'd see would shock me, but they didn't, and I know that could be seen as something bad, as if I lack empathy, but I don't think that's the case. When I first arrived, I kept on thinking that I should have had a culture shock and that it was bad that I didn't have one, but, in my opinion, I didn't have a culture shock because I had already been told what to expect, I had been shown photos of things I would witness on a daily basis in the middle of the street; I knew I would see scavengers pulling carts of rubbish with a tiny baby sitting in the back amongst all the rubbish; I knew because I had been told all of the and I already knew things about the country itself and what it has been through... I was warned to expect a culture shock that I could never prepare myself for even if I tried, yet I didn't experience one.
I'm not going to say that this is the reason, but in my opinion, and it's something that has only just appeared in my head, is that maybe if you have a culture shock, it could be due to the fact that you probably never truly believed what people told you, you never truly believed that someone could be so poor and own so little, especially when you know that there are people in this world who have so much money that they accumulate certain things that have absolutely no value or necessity for them, yet they have them anyway because they can; whereas someone who does not have a lot of money won't even think about possessing those insignificant things, because all they'll think about is their necessity: food, clothes, a place to sleep that they can call home.
Anyway, getting back on track, but maybe slightly around the edges... Even though the world doesn't belong to use, we belong to the world, and we can go exploring whenever we like, it's that easy.
Yes, there are a few barriers, but not too many, not enough to hold you back. We just have to rip those roots out and see the rest of the world, because life is so much more than we're led to believe, so we should travel around to see it for ourselves.
Inspired by the movie The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (2013) Directed by Ben Stiller [Film]. UK: 20th Century Fox; along with my move to Phnom Penh, Cambodia in December 2014.
Written by Sofia Tartaglia in December 2014
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