This life lesson relates to my previous blog post #10 Buy My Own Car.
I think this is a lesson that we have all learned, time and time again. With each new phase of our lives, comes an aspect where we yearn for freedom.
When you’re crawling as a baby, you want to learn to walk so you can go further and explore more of your surroundings.
When you’re old enough to drive you want your licence so that you don’t have to get your loser parents to drive you around.
When you’re old enough to move out of the house you look for a flat so that you no longer have to live with your loser parents.
**I am speaking generically here. My parents were not “losers”, they were awesome! In fact, it was my mum who told my brother and I to find a flat when I was 18 and he was 20 years old. It was her time for freedom.
When you’re aging, the thought of moving into a rest home is not appealing because it is taking away your freedom.
The examples are essentially endless. I think this is because freedom is hardwired into our brains from birth; at least to some extent. I have always been an independent person, so freedom has always been important to me.
I had no problem travelling around with Kyle in his car throughout New Zealand because we were always doing things together. It was once we settled in New Plymouth and began to have differing agendas than I found it tough. Eventually it was my desire for freedom that made me realise that it was time to buy my own car.
As with all the examples I have listed above, my desire for freedom led me to a new life experience. And I believe that is truly the lesson here: strive for freedom, because it leads to new life experiences. The whole idea of the bucket list is based on new life experiences, so I see this lesson as being one of the most important lessons I have learned along my bucket list adventure.
I’m sure everyone reading this can relate to this lesson either based on the examples above or others you have encountered in your life. Ever backpacked through Europe for the summer? Or disappeared in South America for a couple months?
Ever went on an adventure just because you “needed to get away”? It’s that hardwired desire for freedom that made you do it. It’s healthy and its good to reset that internal stress-meter every now and then.
When have you strived for freedom? Where did you go and what did you do? Let me know in the comments below.
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Dave has been on a mission, since 2010, to cross off the 100 items on his bucket list. The stories of his adventures are complimented by life lessons learned along the way and his travel tips are unique to his experiences.
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