Exploring the World, One Journey at a Time”

There’s only, in a go-go-everywhere world, so much to absorb and hassle to sort out, one certain haven: travel. It’s not check-your-bucket-list-off work—travel is exploration, human-to-human connection, and happiness. A globe-hopping, experience-for-experience, leaves room for detours to the unplanned, opening views, and living otherwise.

Slow Exploration Beauty

Slow and contemplative travel is not whirlwind visits and checklist tours. Slow travel is having the potential of lingering awhile. Drinking chai and talking with villagers for an hour in a Peruvian village or getting up before dawn to look out over Andean highlands in Peru are experiences, we hold dear. Each location is a tale—a tale of individuals, of custom, of taste, of heritage—and if ever we are to fully understand, we must be open to sitting and listening. Learning Outside the Classroom

The ultimate learning by doing of them all, however, is to travel. History not abstracts when Roman ruins are all around you. Geography not abstracts when you’re looking over the edge of the Grand Canyon. And empathy is something you acquire by meeting beings from a different world. Every trip is a lesson in some way—about the world, and about yourself.

Finding Yourself Along the Way

That’s why road warriors swear to “find themselves.” Being out of schedule puts you in the position where you will have to listen to your own mind more than you ever have in your life. Small irritations along the way at first—having to learn a new language or missing a train—embolden you and toughen you up. You become able to listen to your gut and tap into inner reservoirs of strength you never knew existed.

Collecting stories, not souvenirs

Every journey takes something away from you. Something that cannot be bought. Some ridiculous moment with some other person who becomes a friend. Some experience that tested your limits and explored some opening that took your breath away. Some morsel so off-the-beaten-path that the taste still remains on your lips today. These are the ones that leave their mark on your life—and they cannot be bought.

One Trip at a Time

You don’t have to experience the entire world on one trip. Any type of travel, close or distant or far from home, is your international education. Even simply getting an opportunity to return home or visit your homelands for the first time can be an eye-opener in itself. The key thing is, remain open to new experiences and questioning of what each trip holds.

Final Thoughts

And then, travel isn’t where you’ve been—but how much you lived there. Wander slowly, marvel freely, and let each journey change you. The world is incredible, stunning, and waiting. Do go see it—one trip at a time.