Everyone seems to like travelling and explore the world or at least it is on their bucket list. It is an exciting thing to do, plus it is social media friendly.
We get the opportunity to visit beautiful places, eat delicious food, meet new people and explore varied lifestyles. Each of the above is exciting enough to be the sole reason to travel. But there is more to it. Travelling can change your life in unimaginable ways. It is said to be the food for the soul. It is good for you. How? Why? Here is how I define it.
Travelling is beyond going out
Once upon a time, when I was working with an MNC. Like most people I use to think that I will travel, explore places and do things that look beautiful in pictures. There are many out there who left their jobs, and the so-called settled lives to travel. Now they have entirely different sort of careers, or they travel for the living. It doesn’t mean you need to leave anything to travel or make a career with it.
Well, it is not about leaving anything for travelling. I never left my job for the sake of travelling. I left it because I felt like it is the right time (Why I left my job, is the story for another day). When I look back, I use to think that one of the missing pieces of my life is travelling. Well now I know, I was travelling without even knowing. It is same for most people, they just don’t appreciate the travels they do. Every new place we visit, every new person we meet and a new situation we are in, is part of travelling. It doesn’t always have to be some exotic location, it can be the outskirts of your city or a place en route your holiday destination, or anywhere you escape your daily routine. We just need an eye to look for it and appreciate.
Changing the way we think
When we understand travelling, we see how vast and diverse the earth is and start thinking beyond ourselves. We start perceiving more about our life and the lives of others. The problems the people face and the beauty only they are exposed to. When we go out, we see how much more is out there. We start understanding how important it is to consider things beyond us. Travelling can change our perception in unimaginable ways and the inspiration is the bonus.
An unfamiliar place is the best opportunity to know yourself
Visiting a new place is the best opportunity to learn about self. When we try something new, we know that we like it or not. Same way when we visit a new place it tells us about our likes and dislikes, strengths and weaknesses, tastes and preferences. Whatever it is, we never know it before taking up the adventure. When we don’t get what we are habitual to, we get a clear picture of what makes us feel good at home and which place is best suited for us. It may sound strange, but there is a traveller’s saying “our home can be somewhere we have never been before.” The place where we feel most comfortable may be anywhere in the world.
The below quote makes the best sense here, try everything.
“Accept what life offers you and try to drink from every cup. All wines should be tasted; some should only be sipped, but with others, drink the whole bottle.”
― Paulo Coelho, Brida
The life you want to live
When we travel we meet a lot many new people around. There are so many people out there living different lives and been through varied experiences. There are photographers, artists, musicians, students, business owners, lawyers, marketers, designers, and many more. Then, comes us. We chose what kind of life we want to live and how will we make the mark. We get to see all the options and choose wisely, maybe sometimes have to look a little harder.
History, legend and your personal mark
Reading history and being somewhere it happened are two different things. When standing at a place where something remarkable happened. The smell, the wind and the ambience of this place brings history to life. Even if there is nothing more than the ruins, there will always be a feeling of what used to there that could be felt. The experience worth going through.
It is more than history, it is about enhancing our personal legend. It helps us make memories of our own. Doing things that everyone remembers, making new friends, or anything that was never done before. Remember we will not be able to travel always, so take the chances to travel and explore. That is our personal legend, the memories to live with.
Be brave enough to feed your soul with memories and adventures. It will be your history, your legend.
Learn to live
The routine life may feel boring, like having the same thing for dinner each day. Doing things that are complete replicas of each other. Like I mentioned earlier travelling is not about leaving home or job. It is about asking our routine to go out and play. The only steady plan, we need to travel is to know the destination and the way. To decide everything else, a toss of a coin will do. This is the way the life works, we don’t always need a plan. We just need to move our foot forward and travel.
Each of us loves travelling. Adventure is one of the psychological need. That is the reason we must always be ready to pack the bag and travel.
Make memories and understand the language of the world. You don’t need to wait for someone. If you want to, travel solo and you will never be alone.
You can be on a plane, a bus, a train, a car or an auto rickshaw, the journey is all same. You can go visit your family or friends, attend a function, travel for business meetings or market your product. It is the travel we are talking about and not the destination so appreciate it.
“What can be a better excuse to travel, than feeding your soul?”
P.S. The post is inspired by various experiences, articles and the people I met during my recent travels. Please feel free to share your views and help us make things better.
