People often tell me they wish they could travel more. I
usually think “so do it” but I understand that I have no children or responsibilities…heck,
I don’t even have furniture or a place to live. Traveling for me is pretty easy…when
you have no home, you are always traveling. But I think everyone should make
traveling a priority. There are two main benefits to traveling. First, you get
to step out of your normal routines. You don’t have to worry about commuting to
work or doing laundry or going to the grocery store to pick up the eggs you forgot
to buy the day before. I’m not saying there are no hassles to traveling…god
knows that waiting in line at airport security or standing on the curb for an
hour waiting for the rental car shuttle bus can be annoying steps in the
process of getting where you’re going. But those little hassles are worth it
and make up part of the overall experience. I think
too much routine is bad for the soul. Not everyone needs to live like I do,
totally routine-less. Often (especially last month on vacation), I wake up in
the morning in one place and then go to sleep that night in a different place.
But it’s good to step out of your routines for a little bit. It gives you a
break from the mundane and helps you to evaluate what is really important in
your life. It gives you some time to unwind and de-stress and not worry about
errands or chores or work.
The second benefit to traveling is experiencing new and
unfamiliar things. The title of this post is one of my favorite quotes of all
time (said by the Drover in the movie Australia). I think traveling injects
some of the most interesting chapters into our stories. I’m mean, let’s face
it, our day-to-day chapters are kinda the boring parts…wake up, go to work, go
to the gym (ha!), go home, cook dinner, watch tv, go to bed, rinse, repeat. No one besides your husband or wife is really
interested in those parts (and even then they are faking it half the time). But
I think the book of our lives gets interesting in the chapters about that crazy
road trip to the Grand Canyon or that amazing sunset you watched from the beach
in Jamaica or that time you got pick-pocketed on the train in Rome. Even the
time your flight was cancelled and you spent 8 hours in the airport and your
luggage was lost and you had to walk a mile in the rain to get to a hotel…it
may have sucked at the time but I bet you look back on it with a chuckle and it
makes for an interesting story to tell.
Having new and unfamiliar experiences keeps us sharp, keeps
us learning. It stimulates our curiosity and keeps that fire of exploration
alive. It injects a bit of adventure. It helps us to see how other people live
and to reflect on how we live our own lives. For me, the best trips are those
that take me outside my comfort zone…you learn what you’re made of, what you’re
capable of dealing with and what is really important to you. I consider myself
to be a very confident person, perhaps to a fault (I definitely think I am
totally rad J).
That confidence grew from my travels. I’m
pretty certain that I can handle most anything life throws at me…not just while
on the road but in day-to-day life as well. As a result, I don’t really worry
about things. I’ve learned there is no point in worrying about what you can’t
control and, if it is within my control, well, then, I know I can work it out
or deal with it. Anyway, enough about how awesome and capable I am, lol. I seem
to have gotten myself on a tangent. This post was originally going to be about cool
places to find travel contests and sweepstakes. Guess I’ll save that for
another time.
I’ll just conclude by saying that I think you should take a
trip. Make traveling a priority. It doesn’t have to be expensive or take all
your vacation hours at work, if that’s what you’re worried about (but keep in
mind you should definitely use all those vacation days…that’s what they’re
there for!). You can do something little to break your routine and experience
something new...even if it’s just packing a picnic and driving two hours to the
nearest waterfall or Indian dwellings or whatnot. Find your inner explorer, put
down that vacuum and hit the road.
If you need some inspiration, check out Intrepid Travel (www.intrepidtravel.com). I have never
taken any of their tours, but I adore their website and search through it
often. They have some amazing trips at affordable prices and whenever I go to
their site I dream of running off to cycle around Asia or go sailing in New
Zealand or learn to tango in Buenos Aires.
Happy trails!
