Traveling To Expand
So many times I get caught up in the rush of travelling that I forget to
stop and look deeper than my immediate surroundings. In this day and
age, travelling can easily become an impartial experience. People are
constantly racing around the world just to see as many attractions as possible
in the shortest amount of time. There are many benefits and bragging rights to
be earned by doing this, but what does it actually accomplish on a deeper
level? People are having more and more trouble living in the moment because of
the overuse and competition associated with social media. It’s everywhere. From
concerts to political rallies to art museums and to national parks, people are
getting taken away from the free flowing natural world and are being brought to
their safe, planned out, two dimensional platforms.
As travelers of the world we have to realize how this holds us back. The
possibilities if one is able to break free from the restrictions of craving
likes on an Instagram picture are endless. When all someone wants to do is get
that one cliché picture in every city they visit, they are not actually going
to see the real city. You have to dig deeper, meet people, and experience the
culture instead of observing it from afar.
The main way you can help yourself dig deeper while traveling is by planning
less. Planning is a magnificent thing that helps a vacation go smoothly, but I
feel as though too much planning in my recent travels has held me back.
Just last month I found myself in the streets of Barcelona running around from
monument to monument in a feverish fashion trying to cram in as much as
possible. It was cool to see so many amazing architectural buildings, but as I
left I realized that in comparison to my other, more laid back visit to Athens,
I accomplished less.
By putting yourself on a strict schedule, the unexpected, spontaneous moments
that make life so worth living do not occur. It is important while traveling
that people open up their peripheral vision and let their surroundings flow
into their lives. As I make my way around the world, I like to think of myself
as a droplet of water, ready to make my splash, and instantly become one with
the land. A droplet of water may be able to choose when or where it falls out
of the sky, but it does not control what happens once it hits the ground. All
it knows about its future is that it is going to create and expand life.
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