In the first edition of ‘A travel guide for the
journey within ourselves’, Birgit explores
loneliness and tries to offer a little map for
these occasionally very tricky and uncomfortable locations within ourselves.
“Here I was,
living my
dream in Sydney, for which I had to fight so hard and give
up so much. But, something was wrong, do you know
what I mean? Something in me was just not quite right
and this made me feel sad and uncomfortable, but what
could it be?
I mean, I had nothing to complain about. I had a beachfront unit with stunning views, the weather was great and
I was presented with some amazing career opportunities.
So, why did I have this dull, throbbing hole in the pit of my
stomach? Then, one morning I came to the realisation; I
felt lonely and had no sense of belonging.”
Sunshine, Lollipops and Rainbows
I guess, when we plan an exciting trip or relocate to a new
country, most of the time we dream about the ‘sunshine,
lollipops and rainbows’ experience rather than the ‘passport stolen, can’t find an apartment, cockroach in my bed,
camping on the toilet’ experience. I certainly do.
I believe this rosy view of taking on adventures is very
important, it helps us to pursue our dreams and live them.
Although the longer you have been ‘away’, the more flexible you become in dealing with these challenges, loneliness is very hard to prepare yourself for. For instance, you
can get travel insurance in case your luggage is lost and
they will cover it. However, have you ever seen a company
selling an insurance plan that gives you a rebate if you are
feeling lonely, sad and anxious? Nope. Nada. Nothing. It is
just you and your experience.