Why Travel?

I believe everyone should take every opportunity available to travel!  Why?

First of all, travel is so much FUN!!  Travel makes me happy!  I am lighter!  The stresses of everyday life melt away and I become a very carefree me and it is GLORIOUS!  I am typically with my favorite people. We are not pressured by our busy schedules and alerts on our phones and computers so we are present with each other.  Our relationships deepen – we learn about each other and we learn about ourselves.

Secondly, as we are exposed to things and people that are different than us, travel expands our perspective and our viewpoint.   Of course this happens with international travel but can also happen in our own diverse country. It is easy to become comfortable in our own space.  And while I recognize the kind of travel I have done is not for everyone, traveling outside of our own bubble allows a growth that is not otherwise possible.  I have had the opportunities to be exposed to many different cultures through travel – this includes customs and cuisine that are very different from mine.  Can it be a little intimidating?  YES!  Can it also be exhilarating? YES!  You will never feel more alive than after you climb a gazillion stairs to a trail marked by cardboard signs in Cinque Terre in the pouring rain only to find miles later that the trail is blocked  OR after you sit for a tea tasting in a small shop in China tasting tea over 50 years old OR after you experience 23 hours of daylight in Stockholm OR after having a group you have never met sing happy birthday to you in Vietnam, complete with cake and a dozen roses.  It just does not get any better than that folks!!

Gloria Steinem writes in her book From My Life on the Road, 

“Taking to the road, by which I mean letting the road take you – changed who I thought I was.  The road is messy in the way that real life is messy.  It leads us out of denial and into reality, out of theory and into practice, out of caution and into action, out of statistics and into stories – in short, out of our heads and into our hearts.”

My heart has broken open with my travel experiences.  I have grown with my willingness to listen and observe – to truly see people for who they are – to find our similarities as well as our differences.  As I seek to learn about other cultures and their lifestyles, my eyes are opened.  Seeing different ways of living gives me compassion and perspective.  Sometimes travel causes me to be grateful for what I have or how I live. Other times it inspires me to slow down a little when I return home…to appreciate meals around the table…. conversation with friends that isn’t rushed and is free from the pings of technology.

And while I love travel, it is always wonderful to come home.  There is a calmness in my soul when I see those familiar Smoky Mountains.  There is a sweet joy in having my favorite meal I have missed – the one that is “home” to me.  Travel makes you appreciate home even more.

But if you never leave home….you really miss out.  So go out there….stop splurging on things and begin to splurge on experiences!  You will not regret it!