On our first night on the road we were burgled. A desperate thief broke into our car while we were sleeping in it and robbed us of a passport, a laptop, a wallet, and our piece of mind.
On the second night on the road we drove all night, exhausted and disheveled, only to find out that our destination, our rest stop, was aflame in a large bushfire.
On the third night on the road we ran out of gas, broke down on the side of the road, and slept in our car until the city around us awoke with the morning light.
We had many sleepless nights, many hours of driving, many long nights at the wheel.
It rained almost the entire time we were sailing around the coastal islands.
We made plans and changed plans and spent more money than we had.
Yet, amongst all that, I had a great time.
I held a cuddly Koala bear. I managed to go scuba diving on the Great Barrier Reef, a life time goal of mine. We made friends, and grew closer as a unit. We sailed around the Whitsunday islands and saw beautiful beaches and tropical islands. We explored Fraser Island, my personal favourite part of the entire trip, with beach roads and sub tropical rainforest growing out of 98% sand and 2% rock. We had a scenic flight over the island and saw lakes that looked like butterflies and trees that looked like broccoli. We explored a new city and I saw an old friend. And then we lay on the beach for two days and learned to surf – another life goal.
In ten days of disaster, we managed to see so much and do so much that it left my head spinning. It was an experience!
And that’s the thing, that’s what it’s all about. That’s what life is: an experience. They are not all good. Sometimes bad luck strikes when you least expect it and can barely handle it. But you band together and you keep moving, because forward is the only direction you can go. The bad experiences are bad, sometimes terrible. But they can never outweigh the good. For every sleepless night we had an incredible day. For every item lost we gained an adventure. For every day on the road we had a new experience.
Experiences are what bring people together. When you share a drink or a meal you gain a temporary connection. When you share an experience you gain a life-long memory, and, with it, a life-long friend.
These days it is easy to judge others by their age or their intelligence; easy to say someone is older therefore they must be wiser. But the true measure of life is one’s experience. He, or she, who is more experienced, will always have a firmer grasp on reality, a deeper understanding of the world, a richer life.
After ten days of terrific terror I can say I am a little wiser, a little more cautious, a little more adventurous, and a lot more experienced.
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