Our time here is finite, if you can, you should

In February I set off for a run, 2km in I stopped to have a moment.

My body was in agony, it all felt familiar, I was so over the pain. The aftermath of my Costa Rica surf accident rumbled on. The colour in my normally bright life had dimmed.

As I gazed out at the swans I took a deep breath and started running again. And ran directly into a guy I know, who I worked with for years. He knows me inside out.

Weirdly I'd not seen him since my book launch party in Oct 2021. And now in 2023, the universe made us bump into each other as I was feeling despondent with life. I could tell he could see I was a shell of me.

He asked that standard question, ‘What are your next travel plans?’, and I shrugged, before following up with “No idea, I need to get my health back”. In my mind I was mumbling, “There is no travel with a broken body”. How doom and gloom.

He'd read my book and filled me in on his travel goals - he was keen to visit Japan. I nodded, sharing it was incredible. Then it came, he starts to talk himself out of the trip.

Although I was standing in pain, breathing through my despair, I could spot a self-made excuse a mile off. His reason for not visiting Japan seemed logical 'You need to give it a good three weeks'. But, also, it is not true.

I visited Japan in 2015. Travelling Tokyo, Kyoto, Noto and Osaka over 8 days.

Yeah, there are destinations I haven’t visited and there were long days. But I've experienced it. Japan. A country so full of culture, and breathtakingly beautiful that I hold it close to me even now 8 years later. I didn't need 3 weeks. I used the time I had to have a fully immersive experience.

Weirdly we seem to wish away life. We box off our time. 2 weeks for holidays. Max 2 weeks. Nothing more. We use the self-imposed time restriction as a reason to not even try and make what could be a lifetime experience, on a micro level, become a reality.

We admit defeat. Completely caught in the rules of society. Our dreams gone, forever.

Last year some of my favourite trips were short and sharp. Over three or four days.

Paddleboarding in Palma, Spain

Surfing in Sagres, Portugal.

Sea kayaking and cliff jumping in Pula, Croatia.

Street art chasing in Gwent, Belgium.

Castle hunting in Breda, Netherlands.

Our time here is finite, if you can, you should.

We box ourselves in with excuses. Don’t talk yourself out of the possibility of meeting your dream, on your terms.

I met Japan, it changed me in ways I will always be grateful and will forever encourage anyone to keep open to new experiences. No limits. If you can, you should.

Don’t let self made constraints stop you.

If there is a will, there is way.

I dare you!