We all know that travel is a very important aspect of our personal growth. I believe that living abroad is even a better and more powerful experience. You not only discover different ways of living, talking, behaving, eating, having fun etc., but it is like they become part of you. This is amazing because, if you take the time to think about it and create awareness, you can really learn a lot about yourself and how you see the world.
Below are three major points I have learned in my six years of being an expatriate.
We tend to judge what we don’t know and often it is too far away from our ideas and prospective. Judging always divides something between good or bad
We all come from a variety of backgrounds and experiences; therefore, we all have a different view of the world. We see things through different eyes, we respond differently to situations and we get upset for different things too. We can’t judge something outside ourselves with what is inside ourselves, instead, we should try to understand other people’s points of view and really connect with their emotions and feelings. Judging, even ourselves, always generates a negative vibration that makes us consume energy, positivity and happiness.
The sentence that says “you really understand the value of something when you don’t have it anymore” is very true. On the opposite, we always say that the neighbour’s grass is always greener. I needed to go away from my homeland to really understand how much I love my land and all it comes with (even if is not perfect). When you see, live, experience different things and some of them are really far away from the normality you are used to, you can really start to appreciate what you already have and be grateful for it.
We all have different sets of values that come from our family, culture and society but we often are not aware of them. Values are the compass of our life, they are what make us take our choices or make us feel a particular emotion rather than a totally different one. Travel and living abroad is a perfect opportunity to become even more aware of what we really value in life. And from this awareness, I have made the decision to return back home for good.
If you are an expatriate or have been one, I would love to hear your story or any comment about this article. Until then, I wish you well in whatever you are doing with your life.
