Musing through Latvia
There is a chance that I will remember Latvia more for my personal growth while we were here than I will for the country itself. That is not to say that Riga, Sigulda, Cēsis and all the various places we saw were uninteresting. Far from it! It would be all too easy to wax eloquent on the things we saw. I could spend pages describing our awe at the colossal cloud formations over the spires of old town Riga, our wonder at exploring the nooks & crannies of Sigulda’s castle of the Livonian Order, and our inner peace as we wandered through the quiet parks of Cēsis.
But I’ve been doing that sort of post for months now. You can see the beauty of the place on my Instagram, where I’ve lovingly taken even more pictures than normal to make up for what will be a lack of me talking about it now. So let’s shake it up!
When we planned our Europe trip, Jess and I loosely imagined that, from the end of Estonia onward, we would switch over from sightseeing to self improvement. We would favor longer stays in the places that we visited. Instead of a two or three day blitz through this or that city, we’d stay for a week at a time or more. Our next stop is Vilnius, Lithuania, where we plan to relax for about ten days. The following is Budapest, Hungary, which will be a home to us for two weeks.
In Latvia, I felt a mental leap take place. Instead of vacationing, we transitioned towards traveling. Instead of hopping out the door every morning to hit a tourist attraction, we’ve had quiet time for creative endeavors. I’ve been eager to pursue personal goals. Instead of devouring every dessert in sight as I have been famed to do, I’ve chosen to be more discerning for the sake of my health and wallet. On days where we have not walked much, I am now in the habit of going on a post-dinner trek through the neighborhoods nearby.
Traveling for so long, in teamwork with a partner and in the times when one is alone, does wonders for the confidence. I don’t feel like I lacked it before, but it is still worth noting how much being outside of your comfort zone adds to your reservoir of inner strength. Intricate travel planning, communicating with people when you can’t speak their language, and figuring out how to live in places that are often quite foreign to you for long periods of time…
Cheesy as it may sound, all of these challenges contribute to a redoubled determination to be better. Traveling separates you from easy access to hobbies that may have been used as time wasters before (TV shows, movies, video games, etc.). For me personally, I have turned into an even more insanely prolific reader. I’m writing constantly, on this blog and outside of it, more than I have in a decade. I’ve been in a frenzy of activity: from planning out languages to learn, plotting exercise routines to follow, to meticulously researching a career change.
The point here is not to try to brag or toot my own horn. It’s more my way of bringing to you, dear reader, the question that I have faced. What would *you* change about yourself, if given the opportunity? What project would you pursue? Consider this my clarion call to reinvention. Even if travel is not an option, think about what habits or hobbies you could do without. And think about what exciting and fulfilling new things you could put in their place.
From Latvia we will complete our journey through the Baltics in Lithuania. Until then, here’s to setting new goals and to a life with habits I can be proud of!
