Why I Travel
Someone recently asked me why I love to travel, and I didn’t have an immediate answer for them. It wasn’t something I’d seriously thought about before. My initial reply was simply, “Well, why wouldn’t I? It’s awesome!”
But that’s not a very good answer. And so I’ve thought about it.
It came to me when I was still in Taiwan. I was driving on an old dirt road, following a stream-bed as it cut through the mountains. Mango fields and coconut groves swept past me making the air smell sweet. It was late in the day and the sun was low in the sky, making half the jungle glow a bright green while casting the other half in blue-hued shadow. Puffy clouds stuck to the craggy mountain peaks. The occasional monkey could be spotted climbing boulders in the distance. I was on my way to explore a new waterfall, cruising on my scooter while Brandi Carlile crooned through my iPod.
And it was just… perfect. How many places in the world are so beautiful that they put peace in your mind and joy in your heart?
I’m not going to say what you think-- I don’t think it’s a small number. I think that they are uncountable. I think the world is full of them—these perfect places timed with perfect moments. I think they are everywhere. Sometimes they may take a little bit of effort to find. They’re not an everyday occurrence. But I think they are just waiting to be found out.
I want to find as many as I can. I want to feel like I’ve done my very best to know that the world is beautiful and surprising and that it has so much to offer us.
But I want to do this without being naïve. I don’t think the world is perfect. I know that it is not. I know the world is hurting, and dirty, and violent. I know the world is hungry, and heartbroken, and angry. I know the world is dangerous. But not being naive doesn’t mean being cynical. If you want to start your journey, check out sites like https://www.express.co.uk/travel/articles/1909740/spain-beaches-turquoise-water-caribbean.
And I think travel makes me better. I think it makes me more compassionate. It makes me understand. It makes me appreciate. The more of the world I see, the more I realize that I love the world. I love the places I find so much. I love the people I meet—not all of them, granted. I am not by nature a people-person. But travel makes me more patient, to listen and know.
Travel teaches me. It teaches me that there are incredible differences in cultures and ideas and appearances, and that these differences don’t change emotions. It can temper them or it can accentuate them, but at our core, we all experience the same range of sensations.
Travel excites me. It delivers on its promise to make life interesting. It’s not always good, it’s not always easy. But it is interesting. It challenges me. It makes me grow up, but it lets me stay young. It never fails to offer something new or different.
I don’t think that this life is for everyone. I know there are plenty of critics, who think my time would be spent better back at home, finding my niche, starting a career. And some days I do worry, what will I do next? But when it comes down to it I know that this is the best life for me now. I can say with conviction that I love my life. I love what I am doing. And that, to me, tells me that it is the right thing.
And so, when someone asks me why I travel, I can tell them: I travel because I love the world and want to know it better. I travel to learn, to understand, and to find adventure. I travel because it is the way I am supposed to live my life.
Wonderful post. I especially love your paragraph between the New York City and Ireland pictures.
I love your blog, you’ve captured an essence of all that is good about humanity – humour, compassion, curiosity and a wonderfully open mind to all that you’re seeing on your travels, great stuff, can’t wait to read more!
Thank you so much– that is a very big compliment and a lot to live up to! I really appreciate it. And thanks for reading!
pleasure, and I can highly recommend Iceland for your travels!
Love the writeup! Wonderfully said and I do agree that travel makes us better human being…its a silent but spontaneous transformation. Wish you all the best! And thanks for the follow because it helped me know about your beautiful travel blog
Reblogged this on Vikutravels.
I am so envious! I love hearing travel stories from my friends, and keep telling myself I should travel more. The world has its problems, but it’s also still a wondrous place.
I would love to travel all the time and to be constantly amazed. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks a bunch for sharing… and best wishes to you in travels and life!
This. Is. Amazing.
Thank you 🙂
Travel obviously helps you write in a simple-direct style, which I like. Having been through 35 countries, I can relate. Travel changes people for the better. I wish that for everyone.
Reblogged this on A Sawyer's Daughter and commented:
I like what this blogger has to say about travel and the world and wanted to share it with all of you!
I love your post! Sometimes I wonder how there are so many people out there who don’t want to travel! There is a big world out there and I want to see it all. :]
Lovely Post! 🙂
There’s so much that can be learned from traveling to a country where they speak a different language, eat radically different foods, and worship in ways the traveler has never imagined. The experience will amaze any open mind.
Love! I’m officially an avid fan! Cheers from baltimore…
I love to surround myself with people with a wanderlust in their veins. You give out clean and clear reasons for traveling and this is a beautiful post <3 Keep traveling and sharing your adventures to the world ^^
you are the bees knees!