Bravery

Daydreaming about traveling doesn’t require bravery. Enjoying the concept of traveling without actually doing it doesn’t require bravery. Asking your friends about their adventures doesn’t require bravery.

But actually traveling, that does require bravery, assuming you aren’t traveling with a one-size-fits-all tour group that plans everything for you.

Some people will book a 2-week France trip, only to be disappointed afterwards that the planned route didn’t include Mont St Michel. Other people will plan their own trip, choosing the places they want to see and when to see them. It involves more risk, and more bravery. But it is also infinitely more rewarding.

My grandma is one of those brave people. In March she will take her very first Transatlantic flight, at age 82, to explore a few cities in Spain and Italy for 11 days. I think it is incredibly brave of her, and I think she is going to have a wonderful time. My grandma has always been one of my favorite people, and her willingness to do this has impressed me even more.

Then there are people like my father, who watched every single episode of Rick Steves’ Travels in Europe, and then watched the reruns a few dozen more times. He always talked about visiting Europe, but claimed he never had time. Looking back I realize that wasn’t really true. He had plenty of time, he had decades, but he chose to use that time doing other things instead. Now he’s retired and has a daughter living in Europe, the perfect excuse to visit, but he won’t. I think he will live the rest of his life without leaving his comfort zone of the US and Canada. I think he was very brave in other areas of his life, but not in the area of travel. Different strokes for different folks, I suppose.

Which one will you be? The choice is up to you.