I just got back from an amazing two week trip to europe. I realized how much I absolutely love to travel. And yet, as much as I long to revisit places and travel abroad, there is a magic about being at home. The mundane seems brand new when you arrive back in town after a long trip. For example, I realized I missed being able to get food cheap and the presence of trash cans and water fountains, I missed just being able to chill for a day and not worry about sightseeing. To travel is a gift that spices up one's life, but that shouldn't replace what really matters- life itself. Life gives you what you expect of it. When you are dissatisfied with your life and surroundings, the natural reaction is to run away. But this is not what should be done- the problem lies with you, not with others.
There is a story my mother told me once. An old man was walking along a road outside a city when he comes acrossed a traveller. The traveller asks the man what kind of people live in the city up the road. The old man replies by asking the traveller what kind of people were in the last city. "The people were terrible and rotten and never treated me with respect!" The old man then told him that, sadly, that was what the traveller would find in the city up the road. The traveller angrily stomped away. The old man kept walking until he came across another traveller. This traveller too asked the old man to tell him what lay ahead in the next town. To this the old man asked what people were in the city the traveler came from. The traveler replied, "They are drunken fools with no sense of honor or responsibility." The old man then told him that, sadly, that was what he would find in the town up ahead. The traveler's face fell and he plodded wearily on. Finally the old man came across a third traveler. This traveler looked bright, eager, and full of curiosity. He asked the old man what kind of people were in the city up ahead. The old man asked what kind of people were in the town he came from. The third traveler replied, "They were kind, understanding, and supportive. I liked the people." The old man smiled and happily told the man that that was what he would find in the next city. Then he told the traveler the secret to finding happiness wherever he went. "What you look for, indeed that is what you will find."