WanderLust
March 1st, 2008
“Travel is more than the seeing of sights; it is a change that goes on, deep and permanent, in the ideas of living”- Miriam Beard
That is one of my favorite quotes. For me, traveling is addictive; the more places I see, the more and more I need to see. There is nothing that inspires me more than exploring new places. It is all I really need, but unfortunately other things get in the way. Such as life. I continue to travel even when I am broke, however. I even chose a career based on the generous vacation time it offers. Bad move. More on that another time.
Traveling changes us, straight up. In case you need a few reminders as to why you should opt to travel as much as possible:
We gain insight into ourselves.
I owe a lot to my travels. I can’t imagine who I would be today without those experiences. I don’t think I even want to know.
We get to spend time with the people we love
I am lucky to come from a family that loves to travel. We are all addicted to it. Each summer, we discover a new place together and learn all we can about that culture (or sometimes we just get drunk the whole time). It is an awesome experience to have with the people I love the most.
We get to be in awe of the world
Sometimes we get so caught up in our lives that we forget what else is out there. Americans especially are notorious for this; we tend to forget that we aren’t alone on this earth. There are so many amazing places out there. It’s overwhelming at times.
We get to learn about other people
Learning about other cultures has helped me to maintain an open mind. Sometimes we need to be reminded that our particular way of living is not the only way to live. There are many other cultures who survive with far less than what we have, but are actually much richer.
We are humbled
Last summer I visited Morocco. It is a beautiful country with an incredibly rich culture. I had never felt so out of place in my life. It is a humbling experience to be in a place that is completely unfamiliar. I think we all need that experience from time to time. It keeps us human.
March 4th, 2008 at 4:02 pm
Hello from Toronto,
Actually from BlogCatalog. SF is my favorite city, I visited twice already and everytime I fall more in love with it. It’s just a perfect place!
Warm regards,
Gabriela
March 5th, 2008 at 8:05 pm
Gabriela..thanks for the comment. I totally agree with you..SF rocks! I moved here almost 3 years ago from the east coast and fell in love with it too. It’s an amazing city that has a place for everyone.
Thanks for visiting my blog..hope it’s of interest to you.
Lindsay
March 12th, 2008 at 11:13 pm
I disagree. Choosing a career because of the opportunities it presents for you to travel and enjoy life isn’t necessarily a bad choice. (But clearly, there were other factors that made it an un-wise decision.) We’re travelers too, but my wife made fun of me the last time we traveled because I blogged as much as I lived. (http://whattheduck.ca)
Oh, right. I forgot. The reason why I’m commenting was because I was going to suggest the next time you travel, you should twit, or tweet, or whatever it’s called (www.twitter.com). It’s my only regret in life. Well, not only - but it would have been cool to have semi-regular updates like “having staring contests with statues on Rapa Nui”
Anyways, SF is on our list of places to go. Cheers
March 13th, 2008 at 9:59 pm
WebDiggin,
I should clarify. I did not mean it was a bad choice to choose a career based on the freedom it allows me to travel. I definitely still live by that philosophy:) I just meant that I am now realizing that I chose that career for the wrong reason, (that of school counseling) and am finding out that its not how I want to spend my time, even if it does give me summers off to travel. Vacation time is very important to me, but spending my days doing something that I love, or at least something that doesn’t make me want to poke my eyes out, is just as important, if not more!
I haven’t had much experience with Twitter, but thanks for the suggestion. I’ll check it out for next time..
Thanks for your comment,
Lindsay