Learning to let go

          It is getting late and I have an early morning tomorrow, but I wanted to take the time to write about one of the things I struggle with when traveling. As I have mentioned before, one of my favorite parts of traveling is meeting new people and making new friends. But then I hate saying goodbye. Especially when I feel like I really connect with someone, I don't want to let go. I want these relationships to mean as much to the other person as they do to me. I want them to last. And so instead of just salvoring the time I had and appreciate it for what it was, I become so sad that it is over. Somehow I feel like it had less meaning because it was only for a short time. In my head, I know this isn't true, but my heart tells me otherwise.

          This is only one example of how traveling teaches me more about myself. When I am tired and overloaded, I face parts of me that I don't always like. I face part of my personality that doesn't come out other times, or at least it comes out in more extreme ways. And I am forced to deal with these parts of my personality and figure out how to deal with them and even use them to be more authentically me, and hopefully to become a better person. And writing helps... thus this short blog post.