Don't wait

To catch a moment... or rather, to live in a moment. What does it mean? To jump at a suggestion, to follow a whim, to explore the unknown. With nothing to stop you, nothing to keep you from changing your mind, a moment is all yours. There is no reason to hesitate, no reason to doubt, no reason to question. Even the slightest thought of discomfort is enough to keep many people from experiencing the unknown, there are some who are so lost in the certainty of hostels, guidebooks and maps that they are afraid to get lost in an unknown city. For the truth in experiencing a moment lies within knowing the truth that there is nothing holding you back and everything to live for.

I've experienced several reality shattering moments in my travels, whether good or bad is not important. From getting thousands of dollars stolen in camera gear along with my passport in a dingy metro underneath the shattered city of Athens to getting torn apart by ferocious Montenegrin boarder guards in the middle of the night as my cab abandoned me, I've experienced some pretty dreary situations. But I held on to the hope that things will get better, and they always do. The diversion of a lost passport sent me in a better direction of my travels to connect with some wonderful people, and being stranded in Montenegro late at night attracted the sympathy of an honest Kosovan/German family who adopted me for a few days. Not only that, it reassured me that there is nothing to fear in the unknown.

The best moment I have caught so far traveling is the one that I am still living. The last day of my solo Euro backpack travels last year found me burned out in an Amsterdam hostel, sad but ready to cross the great pond once again and return to the boring everyday life of work in Canada. What lit my fire again that night was the spirit of a mysterious Turkish girl sitting in the corner. Someone new and inspiring. After spending hours together, my biggest regret the next morning was getting on that plane. So I made it my objective to return to her as soon as I could, forfeiting the possible 'future' that I had with my job. Four long months of Skype and Whatsapp later, and I am now living with her in Ankara. What's there to lose?