The Importance of Travel: How to reignite your life

Do you remember the clarity of childhood? The way the world seemed so new, vibrant and curious? I remember the cool steel of the polished monkey bars against my supple, naïve hands. I remember the sweet smell of jasmine ascending the air at my Grandmother’s house on a spring day. I remember all my friends, their names, our play games and how they made me feel. As you grow through your teens, you feel overwhelmed by the labyrinth of possible doorways that life has open to you. These options and potential seem endless as they hang over you as you lie, young and naïve, dreaming of a future not yet written. Everything is warm and overwhelming.

When you’re young, you feel as though life is a massive labyrinth of wonderful options and doorways

Then what happens when we get older? Suddenly our labyrinth becomes a predictable pathway to a future that no longer excites us. Our world becomes numb and we no longer see or perceive anything new. Instead, we settle for just knowing what is in our world as our curiosity decays. Nothing is new, nothing is fresh, the world is no longer vibrant and shiny as we sit stuck in a rut, while the disease of familiarity eats away and slowly destroys our curiosity. Life’s doors rapidly shut one by one and we live out our predictable path that’s far below our childhood hopes and dreams.

Our options in life seem to rapidly dwindle as we get older.

What if I told you that there’s a way to avoid this? What if I said there’s something that will awaken your senses… something so special that will make the world new again and rouse your dormant curiosity? Something that will take you back through an unpredictable labyrinth of experience… Well, my friends, there is… It’s called travel.

Travel is perhaps, one of the most important endeavours we can take on as humans. Experiencing something foreign shatters our mundane subjectivity. Travel cleanses our lens that’s been smeared by what we think we know to be and allows us, once again, like children to experience the world anew. This is why travel is so important in enhancing our life.

Wandering the back streets in Chennai, India

Now, there’s travel and then there’s adventure and one option will open your mind more than the other. When I speak of adventure, I’m not suggesting sky diving or abseiling down cliffs. Adventure simply means that you embrace travel and allow the universe to lead and guide you. You take the Road Less Travelled and you meet people, acquire new knowledge and learn more about yourself than you ever have before.

The other option is concrete itineraries and 5-star Hilton Hotels where you could wake up thinking you’re in Scottsdale or Sienna. Travel without true exploration doesn’t always encourage adventure and instead, can hinder experiences that could change your life.

Travel takes you back to living in the moment, to discovering your true self. You should embrace this and be guided by what you experience and make decisions based on the people you meet and the encounters you have… this is what will lead you to take the road less travelled, and it’s well worth it.

As you travel, you not only learn about yourself but, also about other cultures. This wisdom leads you to an epiphany where you realise that your way of living, is only one way among millions of different paths. Once you experience this, there’s no turning back. Curiosity and adventure will invigorate you as you realise the significance of places, cultures and people you encounter. Your world shrinks and expands at the same time with infinite potential as well as the realisation of your own significance yet insignificance on this blue planet.

A local man peeks out his curtain door, watching the passing morning chaos. Mumbai, India.

You will indeed experience a clarity that’s vaguely familiar from your subconscious memories but, experiences that have been dormant since adulthood began and life’s responsibilities kicked in. You will awaken something inside you, something deep with your psyche, something that breeds curiosity and adventure and something that makes you feel connected to an incredible and diverse universe of collective consciousness.

So, what are you waiting for? Embrace your own sense of adventure by deliberately pushing yourself outside your comfort zone. Get ready to see the world anew again and to have experiences that will speak to your soul… Book a trip to another culture, meet people, have experiences and live life how it’s truly meant to be lived… with an unwavering curiosity.

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