What do you do to rejuvenate your mind and soul? Read? Take a walk? Listen to some old school music? Workout? If you talk about me, I travel. Traveling for me is like meditation because it clears my head and provides me a clearer perspective of life and its situations. My family has always been a bunch of travel lovers, and we would have one or two holidays every year just to wash our souls and get back to their own respective lives. I guess that’s where I get my travel bug from. I have been traveling a lot since my teenage. And, after traveling to various locations across India and outside as well, I was convinced that I wanted to share my travel experiences with others as well. That’s how I began my journey as a writer, by writing travel blogs.
I may not be a well-established travel blogger, but writing about my travel experiences has given me a new perspective of traveling altogether. I have started enjoying it way too much. I started noticing and absorbing even the smallest experiences of my journey in order to convert them into words. And in doing so, I also started expanding my horizon of thoughts. These small and tiny experiences made me realize, we get caught so much in our day-to-day mundane life that we miss on things that are around us. So now, every year, I allocate a few days, almost twice a year, to go and explore some places where I have never been before. (I know that’s not much, but you gotta work to earn as well, right?!) And the rest of the time, I’m dreaming about a trip or planning one. Basically, I don’t like the idea of missing out on amazing things and places that are out there. In the past 5 years, I have explored a total of three countries outside India and more than 4-5 states in India – along with some weekend getaways. But, why am I telling you this? Because each trip has taught me some valuable and beautiful lessons. And I’d like to share them with you.
1. Exploring Stories – Every place has a story of its own which demands to be heard. This is one of my favorite reasons to travel, to explore these stories. Why? Because they aren’t just mere stories, they are a plethora of learning lessons. Each place has its own culture and lifestyle and you cannot truly appreciate any culture and lifestyle unless you experience them yourself. These experiences open your mind to a fresher perspective, which is just WOW!
2. Learning About Oneself – In our busy lifestyle, one of the things that we try to focus on is self-care. I truly believe that traveling does allow one to understand himself/herself in a clearer manner. You are out there, wandering in a new place, exploring everything which is new to you all by yourself. It is the best way to learn about yourself; what you like, what you dislike, etc. Believe me, once you take a trip of your liking, you’ll come back knowing yourself more than ever.
3. Escaping – Traveling is my escape route. A tough quarter at the office, a bad break up, or a dull month, all you need to overcome these or any other issue is – traveling. Maybe escaping is a bad word, but you need a way to help your soul relax and rejuvenate. And what’s better than losing yourself in a totally new and fresh culture.
I could go on and on about traveling, but in the end, all I want to say is that if you really want to know your worth in life – travel. It’ll help you understand that there are so many stories that need to be heard. So, before signing off, I would like to leave you with a quote by Oscar Wilde which I try to live by, “Live with no excuses and travel with no regrets.”
Story contributed by Eisha Dingra.