"Wherever you go, there you..." Well, you know the rest!

People always glamorize traveling.  I know this because I do it, all the time for that matter.  When I hear about people’s traveling adventures or see their pictures, I have to admit that I get jealous and think “Wow, I wish I had their life!”  I’m one who always seems to believe the delusion that traveling is going to dramatically change me, as if I’ll be a completely different person when I travel.  Problems will melt away and excitement and happiness will take over every minute of my new amazing life!  I know from experience that this is not really true and yet I know I still convince myself that this is the case every time I travel.   

There is a dark side to travel.  There are moments when the cultural differences are so vast that you wonder if you’re on another planet instead of another country.  There are times when lugging your heavy luggage around to another destination makes you want to throw it all in the trash can and adopt a minimalist lifestyle.  There are times that food sickness is so bad that you want to curl up in a ball and forget this whole “seizing the world” thing.  And there are definitely moments of deep loneliness that make the comforts of home sound like nothing short of heaven.  

That being said, I think traveling is one of the most amazing things you can do with your money and free time.  I highly recommend it to everyone and anyone who is at all curious how others live and anyone who desires to see the beauty that is all over this amazing world we live in.  Traveling teaches you things that you cannot learn in a classroom.  You learn many life lessons while getting to know yourself more because you’re often put in new and sometimes stressful and uncomfortable situations.  Observing and experiencing other cultures helps you to have more of an open mind, it allows you new perspectives, a new way of looking at everything from the toilet to food to spirituality.  

The reality though, for me at least, is that the famous saying rings true “wherever you go, there you are.”  Does traveling expand you and help you grow?  Absolutely.  Does traveling open your mind and give you new perspectives about this crazy beautiful life?  Without a doubt.  However, I think many people lie to themselves and play the “I’ll be happy when…” game.  I’ll be happy when I travel or move away, I’ll be happy when I finally get my dream job, all my problems will be solved if I can just lose those ten pounds, get plastic surgery, fall in love, blah blah blah.  Just fill in the blank. 

The truth is that we can choose to be in a state of joy and grateful no matter what the circumstances are in our lives.  I am of the belief that life is like a blank canvas and we can choose to paint it (or not) any way we like.  Traveling is simply another canvas.  What I’m trying to say is that you bring to traveling, as well as anything else in life, one very important ingredient: YOU!  That means you bring your wonderful and your not so wonderful sides.  When you board that plane, you pack not only your socks and undies, but also your personality, preferences, pet peeves, beliefs, your “story”, fears, dreams and love –they all go with you.  The idea that you will finally be happy or have a new life when _____________ is basically a load of crap.    

I will leave it to the amazing travel writer Anthony Bourdain to sum it up: “Travel isn’t always pretty. It isn’t always comfortable. Sometimes it hurts, it even breaks your heart. But that’s okay. The journey changes you- it should change you. It leaves marks on your memory, on your consciousness, on your heart, and on your body. You take something with you… Hopefully, you leave something good behind.”