Hungry Planet: Suck It Up Rant: Isis and Ebola Won't Get You On Your Next Holiday

There is a unique experience when you work with the public. You become a sounding board for the inner most thoughts of people you have never met. Things you didn't ask to hear and never wanted to hear. Detailed medical complaints, their opinions on why it is better to book travel online and how my entire professional is superfluous. Any manner of questions from where the toilets are located at any possible airport in the world to "do I need a passport to go to Tasmania" (the answer to that if you are an Australian is no, Tasmania although an island is a state of Australia which should indicate that you don't need a passport duh).

This all may sound very bitchy and yes it is. I can accept that I can be a bitch on occasion. Anyone who has ever worked with the public will relate to what I am saying here. Stupidity I can handle but with all the events happening around the world and with the media's tendency to fear monger there has been a common theme to recent dealings with the public. Ebola and Islamic State.

I am going to come out here and say it once and for all. Neither Ebola or IS will likely kill you or even cause you any issues on your next holiday....especially if you aren't going to West Africa, Syria or Iraq. Ebola isn't going to chase you through the South Pacific and get you whilst you are laying by the pool in Fiji and IS won't be secretly plotting to get you whilst you are swimming in the warm waters of Maui.

Of course this is all open to change, Ebola may spread it's claws across the globe but you know what, it hasn't yet so don't waste your energy on fearing it. IS may take over the world, unlikely but I don't have a degree in world politics so I just don't know. I am no expert but again I don't waste one minute of my life letting it hold me back on what I want to do. That shit is for the future so leave it there.

I am also no psychologist, I don't understand why irrational fears consume the minds of humans. Why when the Flu kills hundreds of thousands of people every year around the world are people not afraid of it? Yet an outbreak of Ebola on the other side of the world has people trembling in terror? Why when you are statistically in great danger everyday on our roads are people so much more terrified of flying? I just don't know.

Why am I bringing this up? Because people need to suck it up, put on their big girl/boy pants and get out there and live their lives free from the fear that seems to bind them to their lounges. The world sucks, a lot of horrible shit happens everyday but you need to find a way to rationalise it. Spend some time with compassionate thoughts for those affected, it is horrific and we should feel for them. We can donate some money to charity to assist and we can mourn the world we have perceived as lost but we need to move on, live our lives on our own terms and not let fear rule us.

I do find these fears are much more prevalent in older people. My mother will tell you it is because when you are older you are more aware of what COULD happen to you. She had little fear travelling the world alone at age 17, an amazing feat but now in her mid fifties she is far more cautious. I'm not buying it though. I think there is something in the way our brains develop that causes fear to grow as we age. If that is the case I shouldn't judge but I will admit I just want to slap some people. I can't help it.

There are legitimate things to be afraid of. I am not cracking down on all fears. Big hairy Huntsman spiders, that shit is scary. Amusement park rides assembled by toothless carny's, be afraid! Jumping out of a perfectly good plane, now that shits just dumb. But if you are going on a resort holiday on an isolated island populated by pacific islanders I don't want to hear it, get a grip!

I will conclude this rant in saying that I cannot guarantee your safety (although I have been asked to do exactly that before) and that this little monologue comes with a disclaimer that I will not be responsible if something shitty happens on your next travels. But you know what, that's life. It isn't meant to be all sunshine and roses. The unknown should be what lights that fire under your arse and gets you out of bed in the morning. I can't think of anything worse than being subjected to a "safe" existence. I'm gonna get all Oprah on you now. If you feel the fear, acknowledge it, embrace it and tell it to get F**cked cause you are gonna do it anyway.

I don't really have any relevant pictures to go with this blog post. I wish I had some photos of like a 90 year old backpacking in India, so instead I will just post some piccys that might inspire you to get out from under those sheets and go and see the world. Be Fearless.