Nagua, Dominican Republic
It could be saying goodbye to a hotel clerk who made your stay comfortable, to new friends you made on location, and even your own family members!!! In the picture above, I was saying goodbye to volunteer organizations’ employees and families who worked with me on location while volunteering. When a person volunteers, one makes a special bond with your coworkers and the community you work with. If you are mindful of your experience, you learn new skills and discover new passions. These experiences are bonding and of course, it is tough to say goodbye.
Saying goodbye is a natural part of life. We all go to different schools, travel to different places, and meet different people along the way. Saying goodbye is part of life; we know that things start and end, but sometimes we feel so good that we don’t want things to end. I learned later in life to say, “until next time!” The reality is that I never know if I will come across some of these folks. I usually place them all in my “I will never forget you” list; it helps me hold onto the experience wherever I am.
It is okay to feel emotional. There is nothing wrong with being sad, crying, or feeling down because that shows we had a bond and it was a positive experience. It would be bad if we felt nothing. However, we don’t have to hold onto that grief forever because life is about being happy and sad. We need to learn to navigate both and feel the joy those happy moments provided us. We can be stronger than the emotions we feel, and we will get past them. We will definitely smile again thinking about those to whom we say goodbye.
Saying goodbye to family and close friends when traveling is crucial! Family members worry about your travel, particularly when you travel far from home. No matter how old you are, if you are married, if you are independent, well-traveled, etc., friends and/or family will worry about you. It is important not to brush off their concerns and to make sure you are very well informed of where you are going and where you will be staying. They do want the best for you.
There is no right or wrong way to say goodbye. There are no one-size-fits-all ways to say goodbye. If you need to give a hug, a handshake, or have a good cry, those are all perfect ways for you to say goodbye. I cried my heart out when I left my pets in Sinai, even though I knew they were in the hands of one of my best friends. The closeness you might have with people or pets is too deep to explain. The feeling of loss and fear of not seeing them again might be a real situation that we might not be prepared for. I do miss my friends and my cats always.
Experience traveling while being aware of what we are doing along the way (a.k.a mindfulness). For example, if you are frequently on the phone with people back home, taking selfies, or thinking about what you will be doing when you return home, then you are wasting time while being abroad. When you are so preoccupied with external matters, it is not possible to give 100% of yourself to the people around you, thus missing out on the essence of the experience.
Think about the wisdom you have now or the things you learned together.
My rule of thumb when saying goodbye is to remember the best and take it with me always.
I enjoy knowing I am wiser about the world and happy to have learned things about each other.
It was not easy to leave my family/friends in the picture above in Jaisalmer. However, I did as much as I could while I was there with them, knowing that I would eventually have to leave. I knew I would stay in touch and return (plans disrupted by the Pandemic, for now, stay tuned). Having plans like staying in touch, figuring out how to stay in touch, and sending birthday greetings and celebrating other occasions, made me feel like I was still a part of that friendship to some degree.
