There are a few things we know about travel: some people love it, some people hate it (and we can probably agree that we don’t understand those people, but carrying on), some people do it for the bragging rights, others for the escape. Some people travel because they’re born with a sense of wonder about everything and there’s no greater joy than to satisfy it.
I think that’s where I fall.
I’m never more myself than when I’m traveling and uncovering all kinds of things I’ve never known about before, seeing beauty in ways that aren’t what I know, learning about how different people live and how much we’re really the same despite everything.
What saddens me these days, though, is that we’re living in the most divided times I’ve experienced in my time so far in this world. But to me, that means travel is even more important than it’s ever been. Because travel breeds understanding, which breaks down hate. And no one likes a hater.
Sooo…where to next?!
There are so, so many pretty damn good reasons to travel, but here are the top 10 reasons I eat pb&js for lunch (Yes, really. Sometimes.) so I can spend more on seeing the world.
To see
I travel the world to see. And I mean that in more ways than one. Of course I travel to see the tealest waters I’ve ever experienced in Bermuda and the inside of the Great Pyramid in Egypt and the twinkling bioluminescent bay between the mangroves in Puerto Rico. But I also travel to see, as in, to open my eyes. To understand more about the world and what’s in it, and to appreciate all the incredible diversity that exists out there.
To eat
Let’s be real: I definitely travel the world to eat. I’m not one of those people who only eats to live. And if I’m being completely honest, I don’t even like those people that much! Eating and enjoying good food is one of life’s sweetest gifts, and not exploring the world for all its flavor could really almost be considered one of the cardinal sins. And I doubt anyone with sense would disagree.
To explore
I travel the world to explore. I may not be out there with my hiking stick and a flag marking territory I think I’ve conquered, but I still consider seeing the world with my camera and a scratch off map marking territory I think I’ve conquered, an exploration. What a gift to set foot on the Great Wall of China and wonder how, like really how they ever built that thing. Or to try navigating an ancient media in Fes and wonder how, like really how to get the heck out of there. Whatever it is, it’s fun. It’s freeing and it’s pretty cool to know you’ll find things you never knew you never knew about.
To encounter
Which brings us to this one. I travel the world to encounter. To encounter places, things, people, food so good it’ll make my cry a little when I think back on it and can’t have any. Surprise. Newness. Unknowns. These are some of the things that keep life interesting. That break up the monotony of making the same commute with the same people to work in the same place and do pretty much the same thing. Encounters are what keep us alive. They’re what keep us woke and aware of who and what’s in the world and what we need to know about all of that.
To free myself
I travel the world to free myself. To escape from the confines of work and responsibilities and to dance in the streets in an immodest costume for two days straight at Trinidad Carnival. Your spirit needs to fly free every now and then. Or as often as possible. You need it to remember what life is supposed to feel like. To pause and be grateful for the fact that we have actual freedom and that though the overwhelming majority of us have to work, we are not enslaved.
To find beauty
I travel the world to find beauty. And there is so much of it given to us in this world. I believe you can be one of two people: the one who gripes and groans because they can only see the dark side of doesn’t-matter-what, or the one who gasps in excitement when the tree by your house has suddenly burst into pinkness at the beginning of cherry blossom season. I’m the second person. And that actually happened to me last week. I get excited about the small acts of beauty all around me. Which means, when I find the great acts of beauty in this world, like the masterpiece that is Machu Picchu or the untouristed part of Pigeon Point beach in Tobago, I can marvel at it and give thanks.
To know
I travel the world to know. To know what I don’t know. To know what I want to know more about. To know what it feels like to tip-toe into always-warm waters in Grenada. Or to know what the history of basket weaving means to the slave descended Gullah-Geechee people in Charleston who do it. The more we know, the less we’re able to hate. At least that’s what I think. People hate what they don’t know, or what they think they don’t like because they don’t know about it or try to. To have the privilege or opportunity to travel and know more than what’s right around you, is a gift that shouldn’t be glanced over.
To learn
I also travel the world to learn. I love to learn and to feel those little brain waves connecting where they weren’t before. I get the feeling that a lot of people who love to travel also love to read, so I will go ahead and nerd out on a book analogy. In the interest of side-stepping the overused quote (“The world a book and those who do not travel read but one page”), books take us into a new world, one we can learn about and experience through someone else’s words. But traveling is like that book coming to life and giving you the chance to experience it yourself. And there’s no better way to learn about something, to really feel it, than to try it yourself.
To appreciate
I travel the world to appreciate. And there’s so much to appreciate. I’m a glass half full, silver lining, sunshine loving kind of girl, and though things do suck sometimes—including travel experiences—there will always be something to appreciate. Even if it isn’t obvious right away. So find it. Appreciate it. And be glad for all the good things the world gives you.
To expand
Above all, I travel the world to expand. To expand my mind, my horizons, my world, my heart. To find places and people that will change my life, make me bigger, better, more loving, more giving, more accepting. More grateful. I travel to do my very small part in this world to spread the word about the beauty of people and places and things, and maybe, if I’m lucky, to expand other minds too.