Veni. Vidi. Didici.
I came. I saw. I learned.
People often tell me how adventurous I am when I travel somewhere new. Though, I don’t feel like much of a daredevil at all. Traveling for me, is the way in which I feel most grounded, more connected, and at home. Yet, home isn’t just a place, it’s a feeling, and sometimes you have to leave home, in order to realize that. The push outside of my comfort zone, thrust into strange environments, forced to trust total strangers to help me navigate my course, is equal parts terrifying and thrilling. Whether moving across town or across the globe, I feel a stretch, and I am quickly reminded of just how small we all are in this larger picture of life. At the same time, I discover and rediscover, that the destination is not the only goal.
Connection and purpose are the most basic human desires. We want others to see our significance and we want to feel like we have a place. A lot of times we are so consumed with getting people to see us, hear us, choose us, that we forget to extend that very courtesy to ourselves. How can we possibly expect others to understand and highlight our value, if we don’t take the time to know it for ourselves? I have noticed that when we are able to shift our goal from being interest-ing to being interest-ed, we not only learn how to connect with others but we learn how to show up for ourselves; because we begin to know ourselves through our own curiosity and introspection. Traveling pushes you do that. It encourages a change in your perspective and challenges your beliefs, commanding you to learn of the different characteristics that you never knew you had on the inside of you.
Each trip, I gain:
More confidence
Greater sense of self efficacy
Increased problem solving skills
Strengthened faith
Heightened cultural sensitivity, and most importantly
I learn how to go with the flow when my plans for my life have been disrupted (which is HUGE for my type A personality).
Venturing to unknown places has taught me to enjoy transient, or seasonal, relationships. Not expecting anything to come of it, but receiving with open arms the things that do in the time we have together. Some of the best pieces of advice and the most memorable experiences were provided in a local restaurant, on a street corner, at a train stop (and those can be pretty frequent for me, as I tend to get on the wrong one a lot). But you learn to value the times when you make a mistake or get lost. Although, I don’t believe you are ever truly lost— just taking a detour to experience something that wasn’t on your list, or timeline, initially.
Now, I am aware that traveling doesn’t come natural for everyone. Traveling is a skill. It requires patience. It requires discipline. And it requires trust. It’s made to look glamorous and exciting; and parts of it are. But you can only get to the beauty of it, once the labor is done. There is much planning, preparation, setbacks and missteps to take into account. It’s something that you have to learn, work at, and over time you master, as is anything that calls for you to relinquish old ways to new growth. So if you think you’re ready, all it takes is for a decision to be made. Once you make the first step to walk the path awaiting you, everything else will fall into place.