Travel while you´re young and able

I will never take traveling for granted anymore. Thank you 2020 for teaching me that. And for making me realise that the value of traveling is not the journey itself but most of all what the journey makes out of us.

This year seems to be so different to all the other once. Before, limitations of travelling resulted mostly because of a lack of time. And now, there ist time, but no possibility to travel. What can we learn about the situation?

I used to call traveling my therapy. My antidepressants. My hope, my straw, my rock. Being stuck at one place felt like running out of drugs. I started craving. I started shaking.  Sometimes, all I thought I was: „I need to get out of here”. For me, being stuck at one place seemed to be just horrible. I felt trapped. But as I always try to see the good thing, this might be a great opportunity to think about the meaning of travelling. 

Someone told me a few days ago “Creativity is flourishes within limitations much more than in abundance”. Might it not be the same with our dreams as they are made out of creativity? 

For sure, it depends on the way of travelling. Travelling has many items that can be used in a self-growing manner but also can be just used as a „time to unwind“.

Travelling can teach you mindfulness

Mindfulness is called to be helpful in many ways. Mindfulness plays an important role in stress-reduction. In daily life, everything often seems to be the same. But when travelling, you might see things that you have not seen ever in your life. You might smell things that you have never smelt before. You might taste food that you have not eaten before and you will listen to sounds that you’re hearing for the first time. And by discovering all the new beautiful things on your  journey, you will have to focus all your attention on it. 

Digital detox 

Our daily life is so full of social media and digital gadgets. When was the last time you did not touch or see any tech gadget for a whole day? No alarm in the morning, no message, no wifi, no online directions. When travelling, we have the chance to leave all that behind us for a day if we want to. Walking in any direction without having any goal in mind will allow the wind of destiny to tenderly push you. 

Time for new perspectives 

By unwinding, our mind is actually not unwinding at all. As when sleeping, your brain does a lot of work. For example, during REM-sleep, your brain is as active as when you’re reading a book highly concentrated. Without being forced to focus on a specific task, the mind is allowed to wander, which can lead to new perspectives, ideas and solutions.

Traveling does not always mean to move to another place

Exploring the close surroundings, meeting up with foreign people and asking them to tell you stories about their home town and their country is a great way to learn about other cultures without leaving the comforting home base.