I was thinking about addictions the other day… Everyone is addicted to something. Everyone has their own vice. Everyone has at least this one thing which they simply cannot function without. And what do addicts do? They go to these meetings where they can get “cured”. Sometimes they really do get “cured”. Sometimes they don’t. Sometimes they shouldn’t be cured at all. I was imagining how it would be if I went to a meeting of that kind. What would I say when I’d have to stand up and admit that I’m an addict: “Hi, my name is Nika and I’m a placeoholic.”??
The same way an alcoholic needs and desires a drink – more than anything else in the world, I need and desire to see and discover new places – more than anything else in the world. An alcoholic’s addiction is wine, vodka, beer, scotch… Mine is Paris, Berlin, Bangkok, Lisbon… Both myself and the alcoholic spend loads and loads of money to fulfill our need and desire – the only difference is that most likely I won’t get liver cirrhosis.
Only in the past month I have visited over 20 cities which made me feel so alive. But just like a typical junkie I always want more and more and more… is it a sickness? – I don’t know. But what I do know is that I’m meant to do that with my life. I’m meant to discover, I’m meant to get lost in the streets of the cities, I’m meant to climb mountains, to swim in various seas, to meet local people, to learn new languages, to embrace different cultures… I feel as if I’m the grown up version of Dora the explorer – “Nika the explorer” 🙂 .
There was this one time, in my favorite place in the world – Luang Prabang, Laos – where I got so high on the beauty of discovering far away lands that I even cried out of happiness. Yeah, I know, I’m a complete lunatic – but I was walking through this small and very poor city, passing the night market, seeing smiley faces, smelling the local food, hearing a new language, talking to the Buddhist monks… and I stopped by the river, looked at the huge mountains surrounding the city, looked at the sky filled with stars, cried a bit and thought: “Am I the luckiest person on the planet or what?”.
Addictions are usually bad – that’s what they say at least. However, I am seriously happy about being a placeoholic. Â I’m seriously happy about the fact that different architecture from all over the world leaves me speechless; I’m seriously happy about the fact that I find getting lost in a city a thrill, rather than a discomfort; I’m seriously happy about the fact that I love hearing and trying to learn new languages; I’m seriously happy about the fact that I love seeing how people in different parts of the world live and interact… So even if I had to go to one of these meetings, even if I had to admit that I’m an addict – I’d still be happy about it! Because it’s certainly the best addiction in the whole wide world. And the world – oh the world is such a wonderful place!
