Leave It All Behind...

First, let me start of by welcoming you all to the New Year and wish everyone success, health, happiness and the will travel. It has been proven time and time again (all scientifically by the way, this is a real study area apparently) that travel and getting away from the daily grind is healthy for us and that our happiness levels increase rapidly and there is always some way that we can get our happiness and health back, even in the continuing era of COVID.

But the focus of this post is to get you thinking about all that you need to leave behind and all that you need to leave behind as we move into the new year and what it has in store for us. We have all been through what I am sure most would agree to be probably the worst year in our lives and for many who are of the younger generations this could not be more true. We have had COVID, the civil unrest of the Summer, an election that doesn't seem as if it will ever truly be behind us, and all of the hardline rhetoric of every political party or social faction that is out there and we have all heard about what our rights are perceived to be by a list of talking heads that don't even know what rights or freedoms we truly have because they have never taken the time to read the Constitution or any of its many amendments nor have they paid one bit of attention to the content of our Bill of Rights. But enough of the reality of history and the lack of knowledge and education that is prevalent in todays world.

With all that we have experienced this past year we need to all put our personal beliefs or opinions on hold when we are out and about enjoying all the world has to offer us as we travel around to enjoy ourselves. We need to do this for ourselves because it actually lends itself to improving our health and happiness and it also prevents us from creating a public and social situation that could be anything from embarrassing to physically dangerous to our health by offending someone who is of the unstable variety of thinking and thinks everything is an affront to them. Yes, we are allowed to have our opinions and our rights even allow us to voice them but we are also allowed to disagree with those opinions out there and this is where the civil unrest seems to stem from. If you are one who opens your mouth or types on a social media platform and you put information out there that some find inaccurate or something to disagree with then be prepared to host the responses from those who are willing to call you out on it and don't get upset when they do. If you believe you have the right to put that information out there then you need to believe that those who may hear or read it have the right to respond to it as that is how the world really works and it always has.

The easiest thing to do though is just leave it all behind because it doesn't help ones agenda to constantly bash others with their beliefs or opinions, it has been proven to be physically dangerous on many levels, it obviously doesn't promote equality and open discussion or debate, and it just doesn't belong. We, as humans, have always been able to openly discuss our differences and have been able to find ways to come to agreements for centuries but now it seems as if being able to find common ground is an almost impossibility because there are some who think that their opinion is all that matters and that anyone who doesn't agree with them should be punished and cancelled from existence. Just remember the old saying, "do unto others as you would have them do unto you," and let those words sink in before you do something or say something that has the potential to spark trouble. First and foremost, we are all in this together regardless of where we came from to get here and without each other we are going to fail at everything because it takes everyone working towards a common goal in order to achieve success. Also remember, while you are travelling around the world, wherever you are, that you are representing humanity and your nation, wherever that may be, and that your conduct is what will be seen as an example of what your are about.

Leave it all behind... enjoy your travels, enjoy your family, enjoy your friends, enjoy your community, and enjoy your life because this all we truly have. Happy travels in the new year and may we kick this COVID habit soon.