How Travel can Change your Life, and How it Saved Mine
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Traveling, it changed my life.
Not just a little bit either. Hand on heart, traveling turned everything around 180 degrees for me. It healed me; it fixed parts within me that I thought were not fixable.
In this episode of The IPS Podcast I want to share with you all a story, a guest post that I once wrote for the multi-award winning travel blog The Planet D, (and by the way, the founders of that blog, Dave and Debra are coming on this show soon, so stay tuned for that one!).
My reason for sharing this story and for bringing it onto the podcast is because it captures the enormous changes this world can create in you.
Between the ages of 12 and 18, I was living in a very, very dark place.
I was corrupted by misunderstood and downright wrong beliefs along with my complete ignorance of what both this world and I had to offer.
While I am not trying to bring schools down, as I believe education is one of the most important bedrocks in life, we get very little to nothing at all taught about two of the most crucial lessons in life – what opportunities this world holds beyond the walls of society, and how to understand and cope with feelings and emotions.
I had no one to show or tell me those truths, or to discredit the false beliefs I had created for myself, beliefs drawn from the only information and experiences I had been given access to.
I’ve come way too close to committing suicide, way too close, simply because I hated what I thought this world had to offer, and I hated the overwhelming feelings and emotions that I did not have the ability or mental tools to deal with.
Inside, I was broken, in more ways than I can possibly explain.
While I am not going to go into detail about that day where my life almost ended, far too many people, every single day, do fall from that thin ledge between life and death and end up taking their own life.
And just like me back then, simply because they can see no reason for staying in this world, or living with themselves anymore.
It brings tears to my eyes knowing how many people will never get to see the vast amount of beautiful things that this world contains, or indeed the uniqueness of their own soul.
But I get how someone can be driven down that path, I was on it myself.
When no one ever shows or tells you the greater truths of life, it isn’t very surprising to me that someone can end up there.
That’s why I created The IPS Project, to try and fill parts of that gap, that empty space about life and this world that we get told practically nothing about.
Even if I end up helping just one person, and prevent them from falling off that ledge, then everything I’ve built and created has been a success. Because life, this world and your place in it, are 100% worth living for.
There is immeasurable beauty to be found, and I sincerely hope that this story will go some way to showing how traveling, seeing and experiencing the world can bring some of that beauty into someone’s – your – life.
Please enjoy it.
EP 008 - How Travel can Change your Life, and How it Saved Mine
You may also like these episodes:
- – EP 009 – Dormant Lives and a Broken Marriage: The Story of Multi Award Winning Travel Bloggers Dave & Deb (The Planet D), and How Travel Changed Everything
- – EP 013 – Kristina Paltén, Ultra Runner – Alone Through Iran, 1144 Miles of Trust, Prejudice, and Human Kindness
- – EP 015 – 6 Heartwarming True Hero Stories – The IPS Positive News Stories
Question about this episode: What experiences did you have while traveling and how has travel changed your life?
Did you enjoy this episode?
Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below.
Your Voice Matters!
Hi! It’s very nice and pleases to read your story. Thank you so much for sharing! I have read and listened from time to time some stories (mostly from my golf club) how the traveling experience has had a huge impact on someone’s life. And yours is one of the inspiring stories. I wish you all the best on your journey of life.
Hey Paul, many thanks for your words. Means a lot to me, and I am glad to hear you found inspiration within my story. Hope there is more you can find here on The IPS Project. I truly wish you just as well, nothing but good energy to your life.