Practice Selflessness While Traveling

Yesterday when I was at the gym during my lunch break, I was prepping in the locker room after a pretty intense leg day. There are always two to three women who are in the locker room about the same time as me prepping after their workout as well. I pretty much keep to myself because they seem to be pretty good friends. I have heard them talk about everything from their dog to their kids to their friends kids. Although they pretend I'm not there, the locker room is so small I become part of their audience.

One of the ladies who was currently on the topic of her own kids was describing her busy weekends with her two daughters. One weekend was a baby shower for her aunt and one was a birthday party for her 70 year old hippy uncle. This seemed like a pretty normal weekend for me, considering that my boyfriend has 700 family members that live in Indiana. But the way she spoke of it, it didn't seem like a normal thing to be doing on their weekends as a family. The baby shower was a four hour drive, and the birthday party was five. This sent the woman wailing about how her kids wouldn't stop complaining.

Her daughters didn't want to travel because they knew that there wasn't anything in it for them. The baby shower and the birthday party would go on without them whether they were there or not. Mother's reasoning was "Girls, we will be traveling to this baby shower not for us, but for your aunt."

Duh!

No matter how rechid a four hour car ride sounded to be someone for only two hours, this wasn't about them, this was about a newborn baby and it's mother. All selfish thoughts had to be pushed aside to make the trip for a celebration that was for somebody else.

At the party the aunt had cried out of gratefulness to see the effort from her sister and her two daughters. Gratefulness, happiness, and excitement was brought into their aunts life by their sacrifice to travel to her baby shower.

Traveling brings great joy to each of us individually, and can bring much satisfaction to our lives. We have to remember not to take traveling as a selfish act, and consider what's on the other side. We all may benefit from traveling, but think of who could also benefit. Don't let the lack of self-gratification hold you back. Move forward into a world of giving while you travel, and learn more about the sanctity and true nature of what it means to travel.

My friends making the trip and filling my life with joy

Cheers!