George Kennan, a US diplomat who many consider to have been very dovish regarding US policy toward the former Soviet Union, was considered by almost everyone (including Paul Nitzy - the US policy hawk) to be a policy genius. He predicted almost every major Soviet/US event years before it happened, and advised US Presidents and US Secretaries of State on all major US/ Soviet policy for 40 plus years..... once asked himself:

"What is it I want?" Although rumor had it he once had an extramarital affair with a female foreign service officer while under arrest and confined at a German spa by WWII Nazi, his answer was:

"I want a continued productive affair with my wife and children and I want to do something positive. "

Domestic "productivity" and positive purpose seem, so often, to be cast aside as considerations when making life altering decisions. One overlander who posted here has centered squarly on family, no one - unless I missed it - has focused on the other.

Employment does not mean doing what you hate, it can also be doing what you love. Travel can be a learning, sharing experience that leads to understanding and new opportunities.

Sometimes simply saying I am not yet ready to decide can be as much as a decision as throwing it all in and riding off into an eastern or western sunset. Knowing that there are certain truths, the sun will set in the west and rise in the east is one, having a great relation with a mate and family and having a positve purpose, in my opinion, are also truths for a happy life.

xfiltrate