It’s Time to Run Away from Home.

by Jacqueline Millstein

We’ve all been through stages in our lives when we worked hard, made money and didn’t spend it. It was always earmarked. If we had kids, there were braces, summer camp, college and weddings. Or maybe we yearned for a second home. There was always a rainy day we needed an umbrella for.

I know many folks who have both the means and the time to travel. They’ve retired comfortably and have settled into their new lifestyle with little fanfare. Well, that’s probably the most dangerous existence on the planet. Sitting still is akin to atrophy. And being afraid is paralyzing.

• I don’t speak the language.
• It’s a really long flight.
• I might not like the food. 

I have found that the best way to conquer a fear is to face it head on. Several years ago, my husband and I traveled to South Africa to go on safari, where we were told we would see the big five: lions, rhinos, elephants, buffalo and leopards.

Day 1, we left before dawn and watched the sun rise over the savanna. Our driver Sid had a shotgun the width of the Range Rover, just in case. But it was our tracker whose job it was to locate the animals. He sat perched on a jump seat bolted to the front fender with no seatbelt. He had a large machete with which he hacked through brush, thorns and branches, each time warning us to duck. Since rainy season had ended weeks before, the riverbeds were dry enough to motor through. The drivers all had walkie talkies so that if a tracker spotted an animal, the other drivers knew where to go. 

We went into ravines at breakneck speed on the lookout for leopards, which are very elusive. As we rounded a bend, a herd of elephants casually walked across our path, seemingly not even taking notice of us. Lions and their cubs would casually walk within feet of us and then lie down in the middle of the dirt road to take a nap. It was surreal, realizing that unlike in a zoo, we were the ones who were caged. After the morning’s outing, we headed back to camp for lunch. While we ate, baby elephants casually walked past our table to say hi. I half expected one of them to stick its trunk in my plate to grab some fruit.

Late in the afternoon, after the animals had all had their long midday naps, we went out for a second safari. As the sun set, the sky turned fiery red and then instantly went black. The only things guiding us were the headlights on the Range Rover. We drove to an open plain and stopped. Sid and our tracker pulled tables out of the back of the jeep and set up a wine and cheese buffet with tablecloths, crystal stemware and silver platters. Sid walked over to help me out of my seat, and I politely declined. This was insane! We were in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by wild animals. Sid said, Jackie, c’mon, it will be fine. You’ll see. We had a marvelous cocktail party, which I later found out was called a Sundowner. When he saw how terrified I was, he told me to look up.

I have never seen that many stars in the sky. You could clearly make out constellations and the Milky Way. We rode home in the pitch-black darkness, and I decided that I was never again going to allow myself to be frightened out of doing something new and exciting. If you muster up the courage to consciously nibble at conquering one fear at a time, your level of empowerment will increase exponentially.

So, get out there. When you get back home you will have amazing stories to tell and even better memories to continue dreaming about.

Jacqueline is an accomplished woman and a good friend of Lustre.