HEY. REFLECT. NOW.

I’m in seat 21H, flying from Cape Town to Dubai for a connecting flight to Hong Kong. I’ve been making use of the time on the plane to reply to emails and catch up with lots of blog and non-blog related logistics (see, it’s not all fun and games – I’m working hard, late into the night, as everyone else is sleeping. I should probably be also – the cabin lights are out and the stars are out and it will be 6am when we land in Dubai. No, really, the stars in the cabin ARE out – they have little stars on the roof! It’s quite relaxing. No constellations though. Booo!)

It was, in the middle of writing another blog entry, that I looked up and noticed on the main screen that we were, at that exact moment, flying past Mombasa. It got me thinking about how far I have come through Africa in such a short time. Just over a month ago, Young and I were celebrating his birthday by snorkeling in a marine park in Mombasa, and now I was flying back over the city, leaving Africa and my continental adventures for the foreseeable future. It has been crazy, wild, tiring, incredible, unforgettable, and much more often than not, greatly enjoyable.

One of the people I met in Cape Town the other day mentioned how important it was to never do one thing too much. Whether it’s working and being settled for too long, or traveling around the work incessantly, it’s better to have balance in life rather than overly indulge in any one thing. I know that for most people, to complain about traveling or to couch it in any sort of light other than absolutely stinking amazing is a sort of blasphemy, but to be honest, being out and about as much as I have in the past few years has largely desensitized me to the ridiculousness of my lifestyle. It is altogether too common for me to forget the fact that something like traversing half of the African continent overland in two months is indeed rather crazy (and yes, not too gleefully, I must admit… pretty damn cool too.)

It does take some small reminder every once in a while, like the little plane graphic flying over a map on the screen at the front of the cabin (side-note here, ever wonder why they have these common use screens still when every single seat has a personal in-seat television?), to slap you upside the head and scream at you “HEY. REFLECT. NOW.” You would expect that these things would happen more often when you are traveling, but the truth is they don’t really. Often, you’re so wrapped up in actually traveling that you miss the signs.

Before you go and judge me though, think about the last time you sat back and reflected on how great things are for you. I think it’s fair to say that too often in our society today, we indulge ourselves in self-pity, instead of truthfully analyzing all the good things we have going for us in our lives. Beyond even that though, I think we often get wrapped up in our daily doings and forget to give ourselves a much-needed time out to recharge, relax, reflect, and react. If you think about it, even travelers suffer from this. In our rush to maximize our limited time traveling, we pack as much in to each day as possible, often tiring ourselves out to a point where, at the end of our vacations, we need another vacation just to recover. Yet, what’s the use of putting yourself in new and unfamiliar situations without giving yourself a chance to say “huh… what do I actually think about what I’m seeing?”

So, here, over 10000 meters above ground, I’m officially giving myself a chance to reflect. In just sixty short days, I have gone to a wedding, crossed the borders of eight countries, seen the Big 5, braved waterfalls, mountains, and hippo and croc-infested waters, and learned how to drive a manual-transmission car. I have compiled countless stories, met incredible people, listened to great music, added friends to my Facebook, and shared smiles with folk from all sorts of cultures and walks of life. I have somehow managed to pack a lifetime of experiences into two months, and I’m not even done yet. I may complain sometimes about being tired, I may be ready to settle down in one place, I may have days where I curse to high hell at all my shit not fitting into my backpack, but don’t for one second think that I do not realize how unbelievably, undeniably lucky I am. I hope all of you out there feel the same way, and if you don’t, then please, re-read the title of this entry. AND. THEN. FOLLOW. DIRECTIONS.