What Travel Means To Me
Borders are temporarily closed.
Airplanes are being grounded.
Travel has been brought to a halt because of the COIVD-19 pandemic.
These are unprecedented times for everyone worldwide, and restricting travel is a necessary action to save lives. As a lifelong traveller this feels like a blow that strikes at the very heart of humanity.
Travel is a way for us to connect with people and the planet. It unifies us, serving as a reminder that we are all global citizens and one interconnected race, the human race.
Although we’re currently being physically separated in communities worldwide, history tells us that this is only temporary, and we’ll always have travel.
It’s believed that modern tourism began during the Ancient Roman Empire. With a vast network of roads travelers often visited other cities for sporting, religious, and other leisure activities.
Travel is also an integral part of our human experience, and for some cultures it is considered as a right of passage. The Australian Aboriginal adolescent embarks on a walkabout, a solo journey where they learn to survive alone in the wilderness. Today, in many Western cultures graduating high schoolers will often travel for one year before starting college or university. This is known as a GAP year, and seen as a time to experience living on their own and finding their place in the world.
For centuries travel has, and will always continue to be a part of who we are. It touches our soul in a way that will never be broken. The reasons we choose to travel and what it means to us is often personal and deeply rooted.
For me, travel is many things.
Travel is growth. When I travel I explore and experience life outside of my comfort zone. It is an opportunity to expand my mind obtaining new knowledge. It enables me to see the world as one inter-connected space appreciating other cultures and landscapes with a deeper understanding. The impact of actually seeing and/or experiencing things is far greater than reading about them.
Travel is freedom. It’s this liberating ability to explore and seek adventure. It’s a freedom to try new foods and experience new things. To expand the boundaries of what I perceived to be impossible.
Travel is an escape. It allows me step outside of my daily life to experience something new. Or sometimes simply a time to unwind and slow down from the hustle and bustle of my fast-paced life. Travel seems to have this unwritten permission allowing me to get lost in time and space.
Travel is stories, making me the storyteller. Each journey I embark on is filled with experiences, moments, memories, and stories to share. Some are lessons. Some are celebrations. I cherish them all the same.
So, during this time that travel is paused I encourage you to reflect back on your own travel journeys and adventures, and ask yourself why do YOU travel? What does travel mean to YOU?
I would love to hear your reasons & stories. And I would love to see your photos & videos from your favorite travels. Please comment and share them here on this post.
Now is the time to let our WHY provide us with great hope and guidance through these challenging times ahead. I do believe in the resilience of the human spirit and once we overcome the threats of COVID-19 we’ll all be traveling again.
