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3610 sats \ 15 comments \ @Coyote_Cosmico 23 Nov Bitcoin_Travel

Came across this profound gem today and it hit me hard... I suspect a lot of nomad types can relate?

The Curse Of The Traveler

An old vagabond in his 60s told me about it over a beer in Central America, goes something like this: The more places you see, the more things you see that appeal to you, but no one place has them all. In fact, each place has a smaller and smaller percentage of the things you love, the more things you see.

It drives you, even subconsciously, to keep looking, for a place not that’s perfect (we all know there’s no Shangri-La), but just for a place that’s “just right for you.” But the curse is that the odds of finding “just right” get smaller, not larger, the more you experience. So you keep looking even more, but it always gets worse the more you see. This is Part A of the Curse.

Part B is relationships. The more you travel, the more numerous and profoundly varied the relationships you will have. But the more people you meet, the more diffused your time is with any of them. Since all these people can’t travel with you, it becomes more and more difficult to cultivate long term relationships the more you travel. Yet you keep traveling, and keep meeting amazing people, so it feels fulfilling, but eventually, you miss them all, and many have all but forgotten who you are.

And then you make up for it by staying put somewhere long enough to develop roots and cultivate stronger relationships, but these people will never know what you know or see what you’ve seen, and you will always feel a tinge of loneliness, and you will want to tell your stories just a little bit more than they will want to hear them. The reason this is part of the Curse is that it gets worse the more you travel, yet travel seems to be a cure for a while.

None of this is to suggest that one should ever reduce travel. It’s just a warning to young Travelers, to expect, as part of the price, a rich life tinged with a bit of sadness and loneliness, and angst that’s like the same nostalgia everyone feels for special parts of their past, except multiplied by a thousand.

Even you're not a nomad type, I bet a lot of Bitcoiners can relate to Part B, as you've seen things you can't unsee, which most other people haven't. This can be isolating.

Then, below this post where I found The Curse, another great comment which gives one a reason to continue on The Journey:

Traveling gains you knowledge... Each experience takes a part of you. In exchange you become wiser. Once you've tasted a thousand wines... one is not enough.

The beginning of wisdom is this: Get wisdom. Though it cost all you have, get understanding - Proverbs 4:7

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160 sats \ 5 replies \ @bief57 23 Nov

I've seen videos of travelers and some have commented on point A or say that the more they travel, the less interesting the places become, that everything starts to look the same, the mountains, rivers, beaches and that little by little they lose the ability to be surprised. @Natalia also commented on a similar thing in one of her posts, that even traveling so much becomes monotonous. The first time I heard those words in a video, I was very surprised, it seemed unthinkable to me that you would stop being surprised when you travel. Now, of course, I see that it makes sense, compare it for example with people who don't know the beach and go to one for the first time, for people who live on the beach it is no longer surprising, or in my house I don't know snow and I would love to do it, but people who live in snowy places or who see snow every year are no longer surprised.

103 sats \ 4 replies \ @Coyote_Cosmico OP 23 Nov

Yeah I think that phenomenon of becoming almost "numb" to experience is related to pace of travel, at least it's been so for me. If you're bouncing from place to place so fast that you can't appreciate it, probably time to slow it down and spend more time in each.

I think you hit an interesting point about the same phenomenon happening if you live in one place too, you almost become "numb" to it and don't appreciate things anymore. So you end up blind to things a visitor may appreciate greatly. So maybe there is some sort of natural balance to be struck with novelty of location / environment.

I've found that when I'm moving from place to place and the environment is new, it really slows down time. Something that feels like 2.5 months, turns out you've only been on the road for 3 weeks! Very interesting things happening with relationship between novelty and perception.

76 sats \ 3 replies \ @bief57 23 Nov

I have noticed this thanks to my daughter, she is a little girl and she sees everything with wonder, every flower, every stone, a little insect, everything is incredible in her eyes, it made me reflect that as an adult I am more in a hurry and I don't take the time to pause and appreciate my surroundings.

How are you doing with your travels? Will you be making guides for Bitcoiner nomads? Hey, I just noticed that you are here in Peru and your description of surfing is an activity that I told my husband I wanted to do no matter what this summer. Did you learn to surf with a school here?

26 sats \ 2 replies \ @Coyote_Cosmico OP 23 Nov

I think what you're describing is one of THE master skills of life, honestly. Presence and awareness makes it easier to be grateful for things.

I'm not in Peru at the moment, probably should update my bio. I'll be back there though soon-ish. I've been surfing for some years before I ended up in Peru but that's one of the reasons I moved there. If you're in Lima go down to Playa Makaha any day and you'll have plenty of instructors and rentals to choose from.

Mancora in the north (fly into Talara) is lovely, it's a proper beach town with actual warm water and better waves. Lots of whales up there too this time of year. When I'm back in Peru I'll drop you a line!

33 sats \ 1 reply \ @bief57 23 Nov

Yes, I saw it in your bio, Lima is a great place for surfers, Great, I know all the beaches on the Costa Verde, I've always loved watching people surf and I admire those who do it in winter. Another activity I want to do is paddle boarding at Yuyos beach. Have you ever surfed at Punta Hermosa? The waves there are more aggressive. I would love to go to Mancora, in Peru there are many beautiful places that I want to visit.

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @Coyote_Cosmico OP 24 Nov

Thanks so much for that photo! Brings back a lot of memories, damn. I never made it to Punta Hermosa but I think if / when I move back I might try and set up a base there and see what it's like. I agree Peru has so much to offer!

132 sats \ 2 replies \ @cryotosensei 23 Nov

Oh this post resonates with me hard.

I spent two years in Japan and snagged a Japanese wife. The reason why I’m sharing this is that in a recent chat with my Singaporean principal, she revealed that she found my frequent nodding and using of fillers distracting. As if I couldn’t wait for her to finish her sentences.

So I had to tell her that in Japanese culture (and being married to someone of that culture), it is customary of people to keep signalling that they are listening. Hence my frequent nodding and fillers. Tbh, I knew my principal meant well, but to a certain extent, I felt judged precisely because she is ignorant of Japanese culture. It is a hard pill to swallow.

Nonetheless, I embrace my Japanese affiliation as part of my identity!

I hope you are settling in well in your new job!

24 sats \ 1 reply \ @Coyote_Cosmico OP 23 Nov

You're becoming a richer and more interesting soup, picking up those cultural tics lol! I used to live in Vietnam and some of the common phrases they used there were just so perfect in context, but sort of untranslatable. I found myself accidentally blurting them out reflexively, long after I left VN, in groups where nobody would have a clue what the hell noise I just made. It was awkward sometimes!

Are you in Singapore now? I'm nearby (in KL) and might be passing through there soon, always keen to meet another Stacker in the real world

21 sats \ 0 replies \ @cryotosensei 23 Nov

What a coincidence. Vietnam is my first love because it’s the first country I backpacked at the tender age of 21 haha. I still remember phrases like Xin loi and da gua

Unfortunately I’m travelling overseas today! Catch you for a drink (assuming you drink) when you come over to my part of the world next time!

171 sats \ 1 reply \ @zapsammy 24 Nov

the trivium of enlightenment: knowledge --> understanding --> wisdom.

knowledge is the input understanding is the processing wisdom is the output

wisdom is the real-world manifestation of knowledge put to action. action is required.

in the case of traveling, the knowledge is acquired thru experience of multiple locations' wisdom, and once a lot of knowledge is acquired & processed, one can either transform a location of his own, or help transform multiple locations.

37 sats \ 0 replies \ @Coyote_Cosmico OP 24 Nov

Bookmarked! You're displaying that wisdom thing here.

I've never thought of wisdom requiring action before, but I like that idea a lot. Otherwise what's the point right? The final step of action is a cure for the loneliness and isolation. It's almost like, you can keep accumulating understanding, but if it stays bottled up, it can weigh you down. And you just hoard it like a grumpy dragon on his gold pile. Gotta keep the energy flowing out at some point... love this, thank you.

21 sats \ 1 reply \ @Jon_Hodl 24 Nov

Jesus.

rethinking my entire existence

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @Coyote_Cosmico OP 24 Nov

You and me both! I'm stilll chewing on it now, and what it means. I'm thinking one can cross a point of no return with the travel thing - "traveling" literally, and also metaphorically, maybe best to embrace it, and brace for the unique suffering it may bring too. The gifts and the costs.

21 sats \ 1 reply \ @Jimmyhoneyalchemist 23 Nov

I needed to read this today. Thank-you

10 sats \ 0 replies \ @Coyote_Cosmico OP 24 Nov

And I felt like I needed to share it, on the same day! ⚡ Synchronicity 🧙‍♂️