Bringing the World into Your Living Room-Life Transitions

Many of us who are in the retired ranks spend much or most of our time in our homes. While our lives revolve around our calendars, doctors appointments, visits by repair people, friends and family visits and, of course, watching our TV series, we find that we are missing the stimulation from the “ourside world”.

I am confined to a motorized wheelchair. Of course that limits the accessibility of traveling to areas of my city, my state and the larger world. With that in mind, it has occurred to me that if I traveled to Europe, my circumstances would limit me to touring handicapped accessible locations where I could look up and see the mountains or ride in my chair through the museums, ruins and cities. To travel, I would have to travel to an airport, check in, go through security, check my wheelchair or ship a similar wheelchair ahead, find the gate, transfer to an aircraft aisle accessible wheelchair, arrange to be met upon arrival, etc., etc. throughout the entire trip.

Or…I can use the internet to go where I want to go, see the sights, and experience much of what I would experience in person. The concept that I had to inculcate into my brain is that, in my mind, with a video on my big screen TV, I would see the same mountains and vistas that I would see in person, but without the breezes and sea or mountain fragrances and sounds.

I began my living room journey in Switzerland with a YouTube video:

“Wonders of Switzerland”, found on Google, WONDERS OF SWITZERLAND | Most Amazing Places & Fun Facts | 4K Travel Guide

In each scene, I paused the video, squinted my eyes and mentally traveled to the place where, when I looked out, I saw the view, noted the details, imagined the cold breeze at the viewing point and, from memory, remembered the sounds from the many times in my life that I have been in similar places.

I have repeated this process on numerous occasions for locations around the world as well as within the museums and sights that are close by. I hope that you will also “travel” the world, experience the beauty and learn the history and cultures provided by our beautiful planet.

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