I Decided to Go Wherever I Truly Want to Go

Last year, I made a simple but powerful decision:  

If there's somewhere I want to go, I'm going.

Looking back, I’ve done a fair amount of traveling abroad over the years. But honestly, I think I’ve only been going to places that were easy to get to—somewhere with a convenient flight connection or a direct route. Subconsciously, I was probably choosing destinations that felt within reach, rather than those that truly stirred my heart.

But if a place felt a little too far, or the journey seemed inconvenient, I’d say, “Maybe someday…” and quietly push it to the back of my mind.

Lately, though, I've started to feel that “someday” is too uncertain—and perhaps a little too late.  

Maybe it's my age talking (I turned 57 this year—ha!), but I’ve realized that the right time to go is when your heart says, “I want to.”

From now on, I want to value the kind of experiences that might take a bit of effort—but leave me thinking, “I’m so glad I did that.”

Just last week, while traveling through Jordan, I learned about hot air balloon rides available in the Wadi Rum desert. On a whim, I asked my driver to pull over and make a call to see if we could book one.  

And just like that—I was in a hot air balloon.

As we slowly rose into the quiet, glowing desert sunrise, the vast and silent landscape opened up before me. Looking down, I had to laugh at how small my daily worries seemed from up there.

There’s something about seeing the world from a little higher up. It helps you see your life from a new perspective.  

And in that moment, I realized something simple but true:

I’m really glad I came.

Life is like that, too.

When you take a little distance and give yourself space to reflect, the things that truly matter come into focus. That early morning balloon ride gave me that kind of insight.

It reminded me just how powerful it is to go somewhere you’ve always wanted to go.