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Sharing a personal travel story from Arash Guzzbargetem that I love. Check out his YouTube channel for more valuable content and enjoy the video!
You can also read the written transcript of the video below.
You leave it all behind. You travel. And of course, naturally people are curios, Arash what did you learn, what did you do?! Before I get that, I think for now Iet’s talk about why, why I left, why I came here.
January 5th 2013
That empty feeling was back. Restlessness. Dissatisfaction. It had been coming on going. This night it was stronger than usual. As I looked out my window, the city of Ottawa below me I couldn’t help but feel tired. Tired of the predictability that is every day, the same people, the same streets, the same routine, work, school, weekend, repeat. There has to be more than this, there is so much more in the world, so much culture, knowledge, tradition, and places to be seen. My heart was calling for adventure. I tried to ignore it, you know its so easy to ignore feelings these days, it’s so easy to ignore yourself, it’s so easy to escape- you imagine the activity, I did it. But when I found myself alone, at night looking at my window, the same feelings returned- Arash you need to go, you need to find out who you are, because truth is at 21 I didn’t know who I was. I was scared of my own company, I was busy trying to impress people, busy seeking validation, busy seeking permission from other to by myself, that I didn’t know who I was. Eventually it got to the point where I couldn’t keep lying to myself. I needed a change, I had to go, some place far, some place where I didn’t know anybody. I had to leave it all behind.
I wanted to see the world and most importantly I wanted to find myself, my values, my purpose. We’re all caught up in this notion, that life is this race, and they tell us that happiness is just around the corner, in this circle of life. so we run and run. We run into our careers, we run into relationships, we run into adulthood, we run into the future without taking a moment to stop and see what direction where going and if that direction is the one we choose, or the one society choose. The one we choose, or the one ‘were supposed to choose.” Then What happens when we run without looking. We settle. We settle for relationships that not bad, but not good, we settle for jobs that are not bad, but not good…Why? Because we’re all scared. We all focus on what we don’t want in our life and we never take the time to focus on what we do want. We don’t want to be lonely so we settle in relationships, were afraid to take chances so we settle in our careers, and our life just comes and passes, it’ wasn’t good, but hey wasn’t bad right?
The truth is, it can all be good, but we need to take the time to find out who we are and what we want. Leaving it all behind doesn’t have to make sense to everyone it only has to make sense to you. . That’s why I came here.
If you don’t know your values how are you supposed to make decisions? You’re going to let society tell you what to do and how to live. That works, but what if you’re not like other people, what if you want different things? Then you have to a walk a different path and what I am saying is don’t be afraid, don’t be afraid if youre pathe looks different than everybody else.
But Arash finding yourself doesn’t pay the bills. Well guess what, the Arash coming back home isn’t the same Arash who left. When you leave it all behind, you will change, you will grow, when you come back everything will be the same, but you, YOU will be different and your life will be a product of your values, not society, not fear, not anybody
You might think the hardest step is leaving. Your wrong, the hardest step is coming back. Saying bye to people who have changed your life, people who you will never forget, saying bye to a place in the world you will always be indebted to, saying bye to people whom you know deep down you will never see again,
But it’s all worth it, because the journey changes you , it leaves marks on your memory, your consciousness, and your heart. You take something with you and hopefully you leave something behind.
