Be it Hollywood or Bollywood or even books, popular media has somehow picked up this idea that true salvation comes solely from traveling to different places and only if and when you have traveled to a significant number of places around the globe that you will be able to yield some meaning into your existence. Now, whether media reflects popular culture or is it the media shaping popular culture is a complex question. But it is true that there is an increasing influx of desire for traveling across the world among millennials- the disillusioned generation grinding their hours away at their jobs. They are looking for more and more opportunities for globe-trotting, hoping life starts to make a little sense in the process.
The Story of the Goodings
Credits: pictame.com
The words “globe-trotting”, “backpacking” and “traveler” will usually strike a solitary figure wandering through exotic lands but that is not necessarily the truth always. The family of Faye and Matthew Gooding are preparing to travel the world and have already sold their four-bedroom house and most of their other materialistic possessions in pursuit of happiness through travel.
The story of the Gooding family is no less than a highly dramatic cinematic fantasy. The couple Faye and Matthew run a mortgage broking business and had it all in place by today’s societal standards. A luxury home in a posh village near Lincoln, in England; a successful business, and five beautiful sons- a picture-perfect family was their living reality. But when Faye gave birth to the youngest of her sons, the twins Freddie and Jasper, she apparently felt a sense of lacking in their otherwise materialistically perfect life. Both Mr. and Mrs. Gooding felt that there is more to life than just working their lives away to pay for a mortgage and that they would rather invest their time into the family. And just like that, the decisions were made last summer. They put their house on the market for sale, the kids did not go back to school in September and instead, Faye started teaching them at home. According to the couple, getting rid of so many of their materialistic possessions has been admittedly tough, and selling off their house has been particular saddening, but it was somewhat liberating to them as well.
The Colossal Decision to set themselves Free
They are now planning to go around the world with one rucksack each, starting from Sweden and then letting their older sons take the wheel (not literally) from there. Mrs. Gooding wrote on her Instagram account (@mother_of_five_boys): “‘People have said “aren’t you worried about stability and security?” – Particularly as we have five small children. It is a risk because we are giving up so much. But we can’t wait to spend more time with our sons without the stresses of everyday routines.”
An Inspiring Reality or a Distant Dream?
Admittedly, this is no short of a fairy-tale and people on social media seem to be very appreciative of the move made by this family. But the pragmatism behind this decision in the lives of people like you and me is questionable (unless you are a rich mogul). To be very honest, traveling is beneficial for humans. It does contribute to expanding horizons and making us better human beings by letting us understand different cultures and ways of life across the world. But how many of https://www.instagram.com/mother_of_five_boys/us can afford to hire extra staff to regulate our businesses from overseas? Or better, how many of us even own that kind of a business to support our finances? Most of the millennials do not even own real estate, to begin with. So where do we draw the line? Travelling can undoubtedly shape our lives better, but sadly, we still can’t pay our bills in Instagram quotes.
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