[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_margin=”0px|0px|0px|0px|false|false” custom_padding=”0px|0px|0px|0px|false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row module_class=” et_pb_row_fullwidth” _builder_version=”4.16″ width=”100%” width_tablet=”80%” width_phone=”” width_last_edited=”on|desktop” max_width=”100%” max_width_tablet=”80%” max_width_phone=”” max_width_last_edited=”on|desktop” animation_style=”fade” make_fullwidth=”on” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_padding=”|||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/theworldoffroad.com\/2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/TheWorldOffroad_Temperidis-DJI_0102.jpg” title_text=”DCIM100MEDIADJI_0102.JPG” show_in_lightbox=”on” force_fullwidth=”on” align_tablet=”center” align_phone=”” align_last_edited=”on|desktop” _builder_version=”4.16″ box_shadow_style=”preset3″ global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_post_title comments=”off” featured_image=”off” _builder_version=”4.16″ title_font=”Fjalla One|700|||||||” title_text_align=”center” title_font_size=”64px” text_orientation=”center” custom_padding=”20px||||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_post_title][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” width=”50%” custom_padding=”40px||||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” text_font_size=”18px” header_font=”|300|||||||” header_line_height=”1.4em” header_3_font=”||||||||” header_3_text_align=”left” header_3_line_height=”1.4em” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n
Tonight, I’m sitting here reading your messages on our posts, on the Sunday live sessions, or on Livemedia.gr videos. Beyond the admiration and the wishes for strength and safe travels, one phrase caught my eye\u2014repeated three or four times by different people:<\/strong><\/p>\n “Thank you for doing what I’ve always dreamed of but will never do in my life.”<\/em> Or something along those lines.<\/span><\/p>\n Reading something like that, it’s easy to let your ego swell and tell yourself, “Who the hell am I? How do I pull off what so many others can\u2019t? How awesome must I be?”<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n But honestly, while I want to thank the people who express such kind words about our project and way of life, a phrase like this\u2014which we’ve heard countless times from friends over the years\u2014makes me sad more than it lifts me up. Why?<\/span><\/p>\n No, I don’t take it literally. I don’t believe others can\u2019t do what we do or whatever they dream of. It saddens me because some people genuinely believe they can’t make their dreams come true. They believe it without even trying\u2014it’s a small religion in itself. They think they were born and raised just to handle life’s problems, and that, on its own, is heartbreaking. But it\u2019s not true just because you believe it is.<\/span><\/p>\n Anyone who’s ever said this to my face probably got a quick reply: “If you want something badly enough, you can do it.”<\/em> But phrases like that go in one ear, skim the brain without touching a nerve, and fly out the other. They end up discarded in the trash bin of clich\u00e9d platitudes, alongside gems like “The universe conspires for you”<\/em> or “If you dream it, you can do it.”<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n But I\u2019m not a writer, nor do I have the intellectual clarity or talent to grab someone by the hand with words alone and make them drop everything to travel the world\u2014or chase whatever wild dream has been gnawing at them.<\/span><\/p>\n Especially if they\u2019re long-term unemployed, underpaid, fighting cancer, caring for an ailing parent, battling legal trouble, dealing with addiction, or wrestling with psychological scars from death, illness, aging, youth, loneliness, or overcrowded spaces. If life has dealt them a heavy hand.<\/span><\/p>\n What does the obsession of someone circling the globe in a four-wheel-drive have to offer a person with real, everyday struggles? Probably nothing. They might see it as luck. Or foolishness. Or maybe\u2014just maybe\u2014there\u2019s still a bit of dream left in them, some reserve of hope that keeps them inspired by escape.<\/span><\/p>\n But the admission, “You\u2019re doing something I\u2019ll never do,”<\/em> still feels like a knot in my throat. Unless we\u2019re talking about all of us becoming astronauts.<\/span><\/p>\n I want to deconstruct that idea\u2014not because I find it offensive (it\u2019s flattering, after all) but because it feels demeaning to the person saying it. And that bothers me. For more reasons than one.<\/span><\/p>\n First: What if you\u2019ve already made your dream come true, and you just don\u2019t realize it?<\/span><\/p>\n What if the simple, everyday things\u2014a lightning-strike romance, a beautiful relationship, a child, a beloved family, an honest job, a warm home, and a true friend\u2014are not lesser dreams than a \u201cworld tour\u201d? I don\u2019t think they are. Those small, everyday things are the big dreams of life. Come on, we all know this.<\/span><\/p>\n Even the simplest moments\u2014a coffee with a best friend, an ouzo by the sea, a stroll along the shore, a summer swim, a good joke, a gentle touch, a great book, or a sunset over the city\u2014aren\u2019t these dreamlike moments? Do we even realize their value?<\/span><\/p>\n Here\u2019s my point: Maybe many of us have already achieved our dreams but fail to appreciate them. Or maybe we\u2019re just starting to, now that a global pandemic has smacked us upside the head. But that\u2019s a discussion for another time\u2014the silver linings of the mess humanity stumbled into.<\/span><\/p>\n Second: Let\u2019s say you want something different, something else. Are you sure you know what it is? Are you certain it will make you happy, calm, fulfilled\u2014whatever you seek?<\/span><\/p>\n But let\u2019s assume that itch won\u2019t go away. Why don\u2019t you try? Why not risk it and see how it feels? What\u2019s the worst that could happen? Are you just bored? Or did you grow old before your time? Try it. And if it doesn\u2019t suit you, you can always return to your previous normal.<\/span><\/p>\n “I can\u2019t, I have my mother in a care home,”<\/em> someone might say. Okay, I get it. That\u2019s life. But even that has meaning\u2014that too is life.<\/span><\/p>\n When she\u2019s gone, when you\u2019re left free and unburdened, will you drop everything and leave? I hope so, if you mean it. But even if you don\u2019t, you\u2019ll need to find another meaning, your own meaning\u2014not someone else\u2019s.<\/span><\/p>\n To wrap this up, I won\u2019t dwell on whether Voula, Anastasia, and I face the same problems as everyone else\u2014financial struggles, health issues with loved ones, age, psychology, legal matters, and so on. Rest assured, we do. It\u2019s a given. We just chose this life because it gives us meaning\u2014at least to us two adults, and hopefully to our child.<\/span><\/p>\n But I\u2019ll leave you with one question I\u2019d love someone to ask us one day, but no one\u2019s dared to out of politeness: Are we truly happy?<\/span><\/p>\n “But you look happy, all three of you,”<\/em> says the kind lady who watches us daily and sends heart emojis. That\u2019s a big conversation, and we\u2019ll have it. But don\u2019t think we\u2019re happy just because we\u2019re traveling the world or living like nomads. That alone isn\u2019t enough.<\/span><\/p>\n If we are happy\u2014and that\u2019s a big if\u2014it\u2019s because we\u2019re healthy (as much as we can be), we feel young, and we have a tightly-knit family with an incredible child. Because we love each other and live in harmony, we might just be happy.<\/span><\/p>\n And you don\u2019t need to be in the Arctic or the Sahara to feel that._<\/span>Akis Temperidis<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n P.S.:<\/strong> That last part was a pass to all of you. Feel free to express yourselves.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_gallery gallery_ids=”5447,4929,4718,5006,5105,5101,5106,5079,4928,4892,4851,4680,4628,4255,4085,4103,3882,3712,3564,3559,3550,3543,3528,3526,3530,3525,3538,3546,3547,3588,3577,3574,3571,3545″ fullwidth=”on” dbdb_version=”3.9.1″ _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_gallery][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row column_structure=”1_3,1_3,1_3″ _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”1_3″ _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/theworldoffroad.com\/2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/DSC03360.jpg” title_text=”DSC03360″ show_in_lightbox=”on” _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_3″ _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/theworldoffroad.com\/2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/DSC03413.jpg” show_in_lightbox=”on” _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_3″ _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/theworldoffroad.com\/2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/DSC03154.jpg” title_text=”DSC03154″ show_in_lightbox=”on” _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Tonight, I’m sitting here reading your messages on our posts, on the Sunday live sessions, or on Livemedia.gr videos. Beyond the admiration and the wishes for strength and safe travels, one phrase caught my eye\u2014repeated three or four times by different people: “Thank you for doing what I’ve always dreamed of but will never do […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":5445,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,78,66,919],"tags":[1087],"class_list":["post-5440","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-articles","category-diaries","category-europe","category-norway","tag-norway-temperidis-philosophy"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/theworldoffroad.com\/2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/TheWorldOffroad_Temperidis-DJI_0102.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/theworldoffroad.com\/2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5440","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/theworldoffroad.com\/2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/theworldoffroad.com\/2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theworldoffroad.com\/2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theworldoffroad.com\/2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5440"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/theworldoffroad.com\/2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5440\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8132,"href":"https:\/\/theworldoffroad.com\/2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5440\/revisions\/8132"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theworldoffroad.com\/2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5445"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/theworldoffroad.com\/2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5440"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theworldoffroad.com\/2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5440"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theworldoffroad.com\/2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5440"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}