Perspective is an interesting thing
I've been away now for one week and am completely relaxed and recharged with a half decent tan courtesy of being in the mediterranean. Travelling has always been something that I have loved to do. I travel constantly for work and also for pleasure, usually mixing the two together. To travel is a luxury and a privilege. For the first time in a long while, I am seeing just how amazing my life has been because I have been able to travel and experience so many different cultures and environments, that broaden my perspective on life.
I am travelling with some friends and business colleagues, who have worked incredibly hard in life, and have not given themselves the gift of travel as much as they could have.
Seeing them experience my favourites destinations, Capri and Mykonos, is an eye-opener. What I take for granted is something most people who die to have the opportunity of seeing. The innocent way a new traveller looks at a sunset in the bay or a ride on a boat, and their expressions that are written all over their faces, is such a pleasure to see.
What I have learned most on this trip is that you should never take your life for granted. We are all fortunate enough to be given the life we have, and it could be gone in a second. Why waste time worrying about something you can't change, or focusing on the negative rather than the positive? What is that going to achieve?
After landing in Milan, and then flying to Naples, where we stayed overnight before heading over to Capri, I was without jetlag and ready to spend the next week or so relaxing, thinking about the business, interviewing some key movers and shakers in Europe, and in general making the most of the experience.
My head is in a really good space. You know when you finally look at the world and everyone in it logically? Travel can do that to you. It can take you to a place where there is calm and lots of space, allowing you to look at things in a way that you wouldn't normally have the luxury of doing so.
The way I look at the business when I am away, is a way that I wished I did so all the time. Unfortunately with a life of clutter, it's harder to achieve in every day life.
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comments ( 4 )
Eveline
31 Aug 2015Wanderlust - A very strong or irresistible impulse to travel.
ReplyFor me, travelling is all about meeting new people and places, as well as getting to know the culture of that country. I'm very lucky that my family loves to travel. They took me to some amazing places, and always encouraged me to do so when I'm older. Probably even the best thing about travelling, is being with the people you love the most. During that trip you are able to spend time with them constantly, have real conversations and enjoy. When visiting different countries, you also learn to appreciate what you have. And you should. Life is short, make the most of it.
Matilda Menz
21 Aug 2015Travel. What a glorious past time. I also had the pleasure, recently, to travel, an experience that I will not likely soon forget. For the first time in almost a decade, my siblings and I were able to take a proper family holiday - and all being of legal age - to the beautiful archipelago of Vanuatu. We swam with colourful fishes, drank fresh coconut juice, and conquered an active volcano. This all being something I have never done before.
ReplyBut what thrilled me most, however, was being able to spend time with the people who understand me most, the ones I grew up with and who share my cultural capital and cherished childhood memories. Overall, it was an experience of a lifetime. But what is most humbling about this trip is that we are all still speaking and are closer than ever.
Giulia
13 Aug 2015In my life I have had the great opportunity to travel around the World for pleasure or for business, just like Melissa.
ReplyI do agree that it is a great privilege and travelling does give you a different perspective, not only in life but also in business.
Living as well in four different countries, I have got to experience not only the amazing places but as wekk the different cultures, the different way of working, the different mentalities. All these things teach you many things, broadens your perspectives and has definitely helped me bring a different way of working into the Australian workplace.
Christina
10 Aug 2015As a kid, when I didn't finish my plate of rice at home, my mum would tell me to think about the children back in Vietnam who couldn't even afford a plate of rice. Passive but still rebellious, I would grudgingly finish my meal. My hesitance and grudges lied in the fact that I lacked that perspective that Melissah is talking about in this post. We can call it ignorance or inexperience but its a natural thing that everyone is immersed in themselves and the bubble of their life. It wasn't until I visited Vietnam and met the children and people who were less fortunate than me that made me want to finish my bowl to the very last grain unreservedly.
ReplyThis is a very insightful post that has opened my eyes to new perspectives in business and life.