If you ask me to suggest you something to experience more joy in life, it is travelling. I don’t mean going on pre-planning trips or taking vacations, I mean making the journey out to somewhere you’ve never gone before, to let life show you what opportunities were waiting for you that you couldn’t have even imaged before.
Travelling is wonderful in many ways you can’t even imagine. It captures us with a sense of desire to travel more and yearning for more destinations to visit, cultures to experience, food to eat, and most importantly people to meet. It’s true that most of us think we need to wait until our later years to really explore a lot of the world. But, I want to inspire you to travel more now and I will do that by sharing 7 wonderful benefits of travelling so you can take the leap of faith you’ve been waiting for.
- You’ll find a new purpose
“To travel is to take a journey into yourself” – Danny Kaye
Travelling is an amazingly underrated investment in yourself. As you travel you’re exposed to more new cultures, peoples, and lifestyles than you are living in your homeland throughout your life. With all the newness in your life, you’re also opened to new insights, ways of seeing the world and living, which often gives people a new purpose for their lives. If you’re feeling stuck on what your purpose is, what you want to do with your life, the career or educational path you want to pursue, go travel… you might just be surprised at what you discover as a new sense of life purpose and direction.
- You’ll make new friends while travelling
“A journey is best measured in friends, rather than miles” – Tim Cahill
Another best thing I learned from travelling alone is how easy it is to make friends. Something magical happens in how people can show up more real when they’re out of their conditioned environment. Also, you will realize how people become open to express themselves without thinking about something else. That realness ends up inspiring others to be authentic, and that’s how you can become best friends with people when you’ve only known them for a few hours.
- You’ll appreciate your home more
“All travel has its advantages. If the passenger visits better countries, he may learn to improve his own. And if fortune carries him to worse, he may learn to enjoy it” – Samuel Johnson
When we spend time away from home, especially in a place where we don’t have the same luxuries readily available to us… like a rural village in Asia or Africa that runs without electricity… we become more aware and appreciative for the luxuries we have back at home. I remember a time where we were travelling to one of our friends home in Asia where he has been living for years until he moved to another city for higher studies. We were visiting him on the occasion of their biggest local celebrations. He was over joyous to see us visiting his village and filled with gratitude like he just got the greatest gift in the world. Traveling through areas like that really makes us appreciate what we do have, and often can spark the movement of something to support people living there experience a greater quality of life.
“No one realizes how beautiful it is to travel until he comes home and rests his head on his old, familiar pillow” – Lin Yutang
You’ll realize that your home is more than just where you grew up. The more we travel, the more we realize that our home is so much more than the town, city, state and even country that we’ve grown up in; we realize that our home is the world, this planet, and we become more conscious of how we can harmoniously live and support one another. And in that knowingness and state of consciousness, people like those supporting the movement of charity: water come into fruition.
- You’ll realize how little you actually knew about the world
“The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only one page.” – Saint Augustine
There’s always a big different between concept and experience. When we travel, we may notice that some of the things we’ve heard about the world end up being very different than what we were thought to believe. Many of the initial myths that get dispelled are often about traveling itself. Where you once may have thought it was too expensive and dangerous, you may realize how you can actually save more on your lifestyle expenses traveling the world than you do living at home. You may also realize how kind and friendly strangers can be, and how they are even willing to take care of you with a place to sleep at night. Beyond that, you have the whole world to learn about with every place you discover, every person you meet and every culture you experience.
- You’ll realize that we all share similar values and needs
“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness” – Mark Twain
Tony Robbins has said many times that no matter what your background is, all human beings share 6 common needs. As you travel more, you notice the truth of this even more…and as that happens, you are more adept in being able to relate to people regardless of their background.
“Perhaps travel cannot prevent bigotry, but by demonstrating all peoples cry, laugh, eat, worry, and die, it can introduce the idea that if we try and understand each other, we may even become friends” – Maya Angelou
Just as we notice how we share similar needs, how our perspective of our home expands, and how we become close friends with others from different backgrounds and cultures, we begin to realize how we are all connected. I feel that travelling often helps people experience a world-centric view of consciousness, and some even on that’s integrated…able to see, understand and accept all states of consciousness, and utilizing the gifts of whatever is best and most appropriate at the moment.
- It will change your view of how “helpful” people can be
“Travelling is one of the easiest ways to become aware of the magic that weaves all of the creation together through serendipity and synchronicity with perfect timing” – Adam Siddiq
If you are new to any place and ask for directions or any other help, you will realize quite easily that how helpful people can be. A few years ago I moved to one of the Scandinavian countries for higher studies. I was quite late to reach the city and pick my housing key from the housing office. I emailed our master’s program coordinator telling her I will be late to pickup housing key on time and ask her whether she can help me regarding this. Then she replied that she will go to the housing office and pick up housing key on behalf of me. And it was surprising to see that she came to the train station to receive us even two hours after her working hour. I was so surprised to see her waiting for me with housing key.
Later, when someone asked me for directions, I always tried to help them as much as I can. Even sometimes I walked with them to show the right directions. Believe me, it feels good to be able to help someone.
Sometimes you will find someone looking for directions and are hesitated to ask for help. If you just approach them and offer help, then you will see the natural smile on their face. That smile is more than enough to make your day better.
- You’ll realize life is a wonderful gift
“Life is either a daring adventure or nothing” – Helen Keller
Life is a wonderful gift. It really is, and as we travel and experience more of the world and life, we often become overwhelmed with gratitude and appreciation for all the beautiful moments we have experienced. More often than not, this is a realization that we can experience and take action from now while we’re still alive with energy rather than stacking up regrets by the time we’re on our deathbed. Rather than waiting until you’re saying “I wish I had”, live so you can say “I’m glad I did”.
