Why we travel indeed. My passion for travel has been such a constant in my life the last 15 years that it is hard for me to remember a time when it wasn’t a part of me. The passion has intertwined itself so deeply into my daily thoughts and is always within arms reach whether I am dreaming of new adventures or wistfully recalling fantastic escapades of the past. It has forever redefined my outlook on life and has influenced me in irrevocable and positive ways.
Travel gives me a much needed break from the realities of life. It is also an opportunity to clear the cobwebs from my head and recharge. But more importantly it is a source of immense inspiration. Traveling gives me the space to be exposed to other cultures, discover new locales, and allows me to learn about myself. Over the years it has given me the confidence to believe in myself again; to dream and aspire to do great things with the life I have been given. And what is no doubt going to be lifelong project, it is slowly teaching me how to become the person I want to be.
Pico Iyer, a favorite travel writer of mine, tackled this still very relevant topic over a decade ago. His essay, Why We Travel, is one that I reread every few months when I am in need of an extra dose of stimulation and motivation.
Iyer starts off his essay with one of my favorite passages:
“We travel, initially, to lose ourselves; and we travel, next, to find ourselves. We travel to open our hearts and eyes and learn more about the world than our newspapers will accommodate. We travel to bring what little we can, in our ignorance and knowledge, to those parts of the globe whose riches are differently dispersed. And we travel, in essence, to become young fools again -- to slow time down and get taken in, and fall in love once more.”
I think that Iyer captures and eloquently expresses the reason that travel is such a passion for some of us. But don’t take my word for it, read Why We Travel for yourself and let me know why it is that you travel.
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