5 Months. 9 Countries. 13 boats. 15 planes. 32 bus journeys. 154 daily adventures. & Too many breathtaking moments and people to count… After undeniably the most exciting, wonder & wander filled journey… the time has somehow come to head back to the homeland.

A number of people have asked me what it is that I learned while traveling.

And in 154 days, I’ve learned countless lessons. Lessons about life, about myself, about the world and society as a whole… but what I feel I learned that is most important?

My answer is this: “There is no time to be bored in a world as beautiful as this.”

There is a sense of urgency to LIVE while traveling. And I mean living beyond waking up, going to work or school, eating, sleeping and repeating.

Somehow, when we get wrapped up in the routine of our daily lives and complacent in the structures society has set for us, we go numb to the world. We watch impatiently as the clock seems to drag at work or class. Or we press snooze for the comforts of our pillow are more attractive than waking up to live. I’ve been plenty guilty.

When you are backpacking through a foreign country though, you have this urge to make the most of each moment in each city or province, quite simply because you are constantly battling time. There is always too much to do and never enough time.

When you have 2 days to see everything one city has to offer, there’s no time or desire to sleep in or fix your boredom with YouTube. You jump out of bed, put your trekking shoes on and grab an old school printed map courtesy of the hostel, and go on your own unique treasure hunt for the day. And that’s how each day feels. Its as if you’re living this epic adventure tale in search of the next chest of gold which comes in the form of a viewpoint on top of a mountain, a swim in a new lake, a bungee jump from 134 meters high, or a conversation with a stranger from halfway around the world.

…An adventure constantly battling against the clock to see, feel and experience as much as possible. And well that battle against the clock doesn’t just happen abroad.

It happens right at home. No matter who you are or where you come from… there is one thing that is true to every one of us. You can make all the money in the world and you’ll never be able to buy back time. Once it’s gone and spent, it’s gone forever. There’s no pressing pause. No rewind or fast-forward for that matter. You have absolutely no control over it and no knowledge of how much of it you’re actually promised. That’s the terrifying truth. The second hand of your clock will move relentlessly without your permission or blessing. All you have is now.

This idea has become somewhat of a basic cliché: from “YOLO” to canvases painted with “Yesterday is a History, Tomorrow is a Mystery, Today is a Gift, that’s why we call it the Present.”

But despite the overflowing number of articles, blog posts, and insta captions written on the topic of “fleeting time”, “living in the moment” and “the inevitable cycle of life”… few really start living as if they understand it.

I’m not saying you should drop everything and travel right now, (though it is a great option.)

Heck, I’m not even saying you have to travel period. Some people have little desire to ever leave the comforts of their hometown, and that’s okay. If that’s what makes you happy, every being is entitled to their own pursuit of happiness, whatever that looks like.

What I am saying is to live. To really LIVE. And to do it NOW.

Whatever it is that you dream of, whatever it is that you want to work towards, whatever your “happy” life looks like, whatever makes you feel alive… Create that now. Do it now… For there is no time to waste and definitely no time to settle for anything less than your dream.

Breathe and feel every spectrum of what it means to be alive.

Love generously and passionately as if you didn’t have much time left… cause truth is, you don’t.

We’re all going to expire one day. You get one chance at life.

So live the life you want right now.

And if you are ready to drop everything and travel… If it’s even crossed your mind. I urge you to do it. Cause there is no time better than right now.

Now for the scariest part of my own journey yet… going home and the “to-be-created” path ahead.

Live & love fearlessly ❤