All travelers need to be slightly aware of their budget, or at least most do. I'm one of the ones that does, and I often see it as quite fun to find a cheap option, as often price reflects not value, just, well, price. That said, more than ever, this trip has highlighted something i've been thinking about and reading about.. Energy.
I can't claim to have invented this rather interesting way of looking at our world but I really do feel it and have never, ever, been able to put my mind on to it.
Picture this. Moaners, bitchers, people that bring you down, negative types, nay sayers- they're not great to be around, they take your energy. Places, people, things, events, environments do the same. On a bus full of dodgy people, I feel it. My energy is being taken, I feel stressed, alert but not comfortable and that's the stress- the positive energy leaving. And the negative shit that's left? That's the shit that causes diseases. The stuff medical types say cause illnesses, and it makes perfect sense. Your body and mind are being put into a bad state, they aren't working optimally and negativity affects them. Capitalism doesn't promote this enough, it only promotes the financial benefits of 'a good deal'. Forget a good deal. Go for the good energy. Humans run on energy.
So. How the ... does this relate to being in the mighty US of A? You'll see patient reader, you'll see.
I've stayed in a hotel, a hostel and couchsurfed. Different prices, of course. But, a big BUT, the most important thing is not the financial implications (only took me 25 years- I am a SLOW learner) but the energy implications. The ups and downs are truly amplified when away from home, so its even more important. I couchsurfed with a dude call Ryan. So nice. Open. Kind. Generous. Booster of energy. His gf? The opposite.
What are the effects of all this? Staying somewhere with stressful folks, where I won'tbe able to recharge my metaphorically batteries might save me a few bucks, but my life energy- sounds cheesy as funk- but it is true, will be less. I'll be less driven, less excited, less up for doing anything.
Where from now? Search for places with the right energy aka the right vibe aka ' a nice environment'. Cost will now be the secondary factor.
And I'm out.
