Posts Tagged With: traveling

Happy NEW Year 2016!!

Posted on January 2, 2016 by Damian James

I’d just like to take a minute to wish everyone a really great year ahead. I always tend to get a little introspective with the beginning of each new year. It’s a great time for that. This is a good year for me to reflect on many things. 2016 marks 20 years since I first stepped foot outside of my country, thus being 20 years since I first got bit by the travel bug and began my life’s journey. Travel has been the most continuously rewarding thing in my life. It’s been my education, my growth, my inspiration and the architect of all the perspective that I have obtained. It’s shaped my life in more ways than I could have ever imagined. I’m so grateful for the experiences and opportunities that I’ve been very fortunate to have had over the past 20 years. I’ve learned so much, and it always fills me with joy to reflect on it all. I just wanted to say “thank you” to anyone who has ever paid attention to, read, liked, shared or commented on any story, photo, video or blog that I have ever posted (even if you were searching for the “dislike” button, lol). One of the very best parts of seeing the world is the excitement I get upon sharing its story with you all. I really do. Our world is a fascinating novel that we can all benefit greatly from by taking the opportunity to read a few pages from time to time. I can never wait to see what the next chapter will bring.

I’m not sure if this year will be “better” or “bigger” than any other, and to be honest, it doesn’t have to be. I just want it to be new. New experiences, new friendships, new inspiration…a new story to be told. Perhaps just something different that I haven’t done before. I think it will seem bigger and better just by trying new things, pursuing new goals, going new places and interacting with new people…all which result in new experiences and fresh ink in the diary of life. We all have a story to tell, and it is unique to each and every one of us. It’s our experiences that make up the content of each page of our life. Those last forever. At the end of the day, that’s all you can take with you when you’re gone…not your social status, your possessions, your money, your “followers” or “popularity” on some social media website. None of that matters because anybody can have that. Not everybody can have the unique life experiences that you create for yourself…and no one can tell the same story as you can.

So, this year my goal is to reflect on the past 20 years and to share some of the most inspiring things, people, places and life lessons, etc. that I’ve been able to experience on my personal journey. I hope to continue to have opportunities to tell the World’s story, one which will continue to shape my own. I hope to connect with people in a way that will inspire them to go out and create wonderful new experiences and stories of their own.

Cheers to new experiences and many great new stories for all of us in 2016!

Damian

#GringoWithAGreenBag20

Categories: Inspiration, Life, New Year, Travel | Tags: 2016, adventure, explore, Goals, Gringo With A Green Bag, GWAGB, Inspiration, New Year, Travel, travel blog, travel blogger, traveling, world | Leave a comment

Life through a different lens

Posted on July 14, 2015 by Damian James

The people who inspire me most, they are not of a “privileged” world. They are the people I meet in the most unassuming corners of the globe. People who have “nothing”, yet would give you everything. They find happiness in the simplest of forms. They share a strong love and compassion with one another – void of wealth, modernity and prestige – and they reflect those feelings with the people they encounter in their daily lives. They would sleep on the floor and offer you their bed if you needed one. They will cook you a meal in exchange for some good company. Their lives are not dictated by social media or the pursuit of eminence. They are dictated by the basic demands of survival, yet they endure far less stress and negative emotion than most people who become absorbed by a life spent worrying about their social status, making money, impressing their peers and getting “hearts” on Instagram. I’ve met these people on many occasion. I’ve been humbled with every visit, every conversation, every smile and every invitation extended to me as a gesture of raw generosity and as a means to gain perspective into their world…unimaginable to us, but very normal to them. We can’t underestimate the value of having perspective in our lives. Our privileged lifestyle that we often view to be unfair or insufficient is just a distant dream for the majority of people with whom we share this planet. It’s always a good practice to switch out your lens from time to time and view the world through a different glass. Get a better view. It’s the best way to keep our eyes exercised on an ever-changing world, and to look beyond our fixed view of a world that presents itself as “normal” to us.