All travelers agree that no trip has the same soul-shaking impact of that first time you set out alone on the road.
Looking back, I can see how necessary it had been for me to go to Central America. I had to leave home to acquire the necessary vision and experience, to come to an understanding of what it is to live for living's sake.
There are times when we know that the way we are living is preventing us from truly living. It requires courage to take that first step, to follow your inner light when guilt, fear, habit, and other people are urging you to stay where you are. You must have great determination. That and imagination: the power to dream great dreams. As I learned during my first few days in Panama City, that first step is the hardest one of all.
Those who stay behind are forever bound by the box of their identity. It's possible to overcome it by remaining there, but the struggle is slower and success is more difficult. As long as we continue to skim across the surface of our lives at high speeds, it's impossible to dig deeply. Clarifying your purpose takes time; quiet, uninterrupted time. That and isolation.
Wow, so well put.