I may not Make it to Komodo Island, so I no Longer have Time for Negativity.

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I don’t know why it didn’t occur to me before, but last week, while driving to and from Lego camp for my son, my husband and I talked about travel.

One of the perks of living in Europe is that there are many weeks of holidays and many countries to visit just a short flight away.

My husband has been traveling quite a bit lately, and as we discussed his latest trips, most of which I’m happy not to join — it occurred to me that I might not make it to Komodo Island.

“That’s random,” you might say.

“Where?” you might ask.

I’ll explain.

One of my favorite students is one of the coolest, most interesting, delightful people I have ever known. Although she pays me to practice her high-level conversational English, I would chat with her any day for free.

She has young boys around my son’s age and has lived abroad a few times. She also worked in the delicious cakes and cookies industry, first at a shop and later at a company that sold cake products.

And she takes great care to create or find lovely gifts for her children’s teachers or classmates on special occasions. See? She’s wonderful.

As well as being a superstar at packing and moving logistics, she is an avid traveler both near and far.

Recently, she and her family went to Komodo Island, Indonesia. I had heard about the Komodo dragons but never thought of looking into their origin story.

But photo after photo of this magical island with unbelievable vistas, luxury hotels, walking trails, and snorkeling, good times, made me desperate to go at some point in my life.

However, it’s far away.

This made me sad at first, but then I became aware that I am fortunate to get to travel at all.

I wondered if I had just spent even a fraction of my time throughout life focused on going to Komodo Island and other places I had never heard of, and less time enmeshed in negativity, drama and drama recovery, I might be in a different situation.

I might be checking my bookings or wondering if I packed enough resort wear and sunscreen.

Negativity, toxic people, bad energy and situations can be so costly.

I may never go to many places, but I had time to spend in toxic situations with negative connections and then dwell on those situations, sometimes for years after.

My biggest regret in life will not be broken friendships or relationships; it will not be failing to make millions of dollars.

It will be that I made choices or wasted time in such a way that I missed out on creating or being open to opportunities to travel to Komodo Island or other places I have never or may never know of.

And what else don’t I know about? What other magical places have I yet to dream about? What books, music theories, languages, food, and innovations will I learn about too late and with no time to experience them?

What wonderful people will I never have the chance to meet or meet too late and only have a little time to bask in their good vibes and wise perceptions of life?

This realization rattled my bones and stopped me in my tracks. Now, when my mind ventures or stumbles into hallways of past drama, trauma, nonsense, or ridiculousness, I say no thanks…there’s somewhere else I need to be.