This post may be a bit more personal than my usual writings, but the lesson that can be conveyed is worth sharing.

Last year I decided to plan a time of extended travel. I had no destination in mind. The reason for traveling was not to travel, but to escape. I didn’t realize this at the time, but much has been made very clear to me over the past 2 months. This desire to go led to a lot of lofty dreams and aspirations being thrown around by me. “I want to do this. I want to move here. I want to be this way.” etc.. These were insignificant. Me searching for an unknown. Making mistakes and learning, just like each and everyone of us must do to move forward. I made the choice to travel because I was unhappy in my job. That is what I was trying to escape. It gave a reason to leave my job and allow me to realign myself in a career better suited for me. This presented a lot of unknowns for a man who has always been very focused and certain is his moves. I admit, it was strange even to me, not to mention those around me, to adjust to operating in a different mode of thought. Yet, even as I pushed forward with my travels I was working quite hard to be someone I wasn’t, someone flighty, seeking change, and uncertain. I am a man who is stable, hard-working, driven, a provider out of care and instinct. I was acting as something I wasn’t and that had never been made more clear to me.

Quite early in my travels I began to feel a weight on my heart that the stability I had left was, in fact, what I functioned best within. I was carrying out volunteer work in Ecuador as this was becoming clear to me, but ultimately, I feel I could have been anywhere else in the world and the realization would have remained the same. I knew I had to return home. I knew I wanted to regain the stability I left, but now it would be within an industry that I am much better suited for. It took me leaving to learn that I didn’t need to leave. It took my decision to alter course to open doors to a new industry. A bit of a irony I’d say.

Returning home has been an amazingly clarifying experience on many levels. I feel that this is my home. I look forward to regaining the stability I once functioned within. The realignment that has taken place for my desired career was based on a need for a new industry. That industry has been determined following a wonderful 3 month exposure within an agency. I am always open to new opportunities, but I have realized to let them develop and present themselves rather than chasing after an unknown. It goes without saying that we must be where we can find work, and the best place to achieve this is where you have the best network. The best place to be is also where people exist who support you, and family takes the cake on importance here. It all seems so logical looking back over the very scattered decisions I made initially. There was a reason that things worked out the way they did and how quickly. Others who know me are somewhat surprised that a realization could occur quite quickly, but only I can understand what I feel and the reasoning for the timing of both going and returning. I am quite thankful for those who have chosen to support my decisions, aside from fully understanding.