02 May Why Travel?
Carry on essentials for a 20 hour plane ride.
It’s obvious why anyone travels: the world is a big beautiful place. But as I get ready to leave again for the summer, I come back to this question. The best answer I can come up with, which is a layered because there are so many reasons, but this one is a biggie: I travel because every day when you wake up you don’t know what will happen. Even having a coffee is an adventure. Doesn’t this remind you of another time in your life? Childhood?
As a kid, every day was so long and full of mini adventures: I might explore the forest taking along a day’s supply of Vienna sausages and Kraft cheese slices; ahh the 80s food of convenience. Maybe later, I’d take my 10 speed red bike to the beach and just watch the waves come in. By the end of the day, or 8pm, sunburnt and dog tired, i loved that ‘good’ tired feeling. The cool clean sheets on my sun burnt back and face was soothing. It’s interesting that most of that exploring was on my own; and that is true today.
I like travelling solo because if you’re with someone it’s too easy to just talk to that one person; instead, if you’re on your own, you force yourself to talk to others. And to me, that is my second major reason for travelling. People. Imagine: you’re having a ho hum day and then while standing in line at the grocery store, someone pipes up: “wow, I love your shoes.” You end up talking about other things, then pack your groceries and leave. That tiny exchange does something to me inside. It energizes me and makes me feel connected, and in a small way, less alone. Now imagine going somewhere and that happens three, no four, no maybe five times a day! It happens more because you actively seek it out and so do others.
So, those are two reasons for travelling that jumped into my head this morning while sipping my coffee. What are your reasons for travelling?
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