Riley and Sarah

I don’t know about you, but we’ve done a pretty good job of romanticising countries that we’ve never seen with our own eyes. Perhaps it was a picture in a magazine, a commercial for a travel company, or a scene from a favorite movie. Whatever it was, we thought, “one day I’d like to go there”. Sometimes this picture-perfect location is all you dreamed it would be and sometimes you may have imagined it beyond reality.

Interestingly enough, whatever part of the world you’re dreaming about, there are people living there dreaming about where you are from (unless maybe you live in Winnipeg…). Ironically they are most likely romanticising as well.

We tend to think that everywhere else must have something bigger and better then our own city or town. We get tired of the “same old” and we don’t notice the things other people travel miles to see.

As we’ve travelled to famous places, we’ve imagined what it might be like to live down the street from a ruined ancient city or drive past the Eiffel Tower every morning on the way to work. We’ve found ourselves saying; “I can’t believe people live here and just walk past this stuff all the time!”

 But then we realize that just like us, they probably don’t even notice it. 

 At the Colosseum, we met a guy from the USA who had been working for the last two years at the major tourist site selling tours. He made this statement regarding the world famous attraction: “Sometimes it gets annoying because it’s between me and the grocery store and I have to go around it. Then I step back and think, ‘man, I’m lucky to spend every day outside this amazing place’.” Talk about perspective. 

As important as it is to get out and see the world, don’t forget to recognize the value of what’s between you and the grocery store.

Riley and Sarah