Travel Is Really Great for the Soul
Traveling is one of those things that can open your mind, let you see incredible sights and have wonderful experiences with family and friends.
I enjoy returning to places where I’ve traveled before – such as the Outer Banks of North Carolina. I’ve been there nearly every year since 2002.
But, I also try to go somewhere I’ve never been before, at least once a year. Sometimes I keep it pretty local. But other times, I’ll travel much farther from home.
As of this writing, I’m about to embark on a month of travel. Some of this will entail traveling to several states, and some of it will be within the state where I live: North Carolina.
A beautiful overlook in Western North Carolina. Photo credit: Cynthia “Sageleaf” Calhoun
Either way, I do this because of seven main reasons:
1. Traveling gives you perspective.
In the frenzied life of day-to-day work, school, packing lunches, going to appointments, and cooking dinner for the family, these routine day-to-day tasks take a backseat to new experiences, people and food. You then return home armed with stories to tell, new cuisines to cook, and experiences of meeting people that you might never have met.
2. You become a student.
When going someplace new, everything is unfamiliar. You have to learn to navigate new places, and possibly new accents and customs. It becomes an adventure, but you also become more of an observer.
3. You learn more about yourself.
Even the most well-planned trip will have the occasional moment of “I don’t know what to do here.” You learn how you might react. You learn that you really are adaptable and that you can use your own knowledge to figure things out.
4. You learn how resourceful you are.
This is related to learning more about yourself, but you also figure out ways to maneuver through new places in which you find yourself. Sure, sometimes this means being out of your comfort zone, but those are the times when we all grow the most and can really shine.
Spearfish Canyon, South Dakota Photo credit: Cynthia “Sageleaf” Calhoun
5. You meet new and interesting people.
I was once traveling and met a fellow who had “never worked a day in his life.” He wore a red velvet blazer and had gray sunglasses right out of a scene in Top Gun. He told stories of how he collected recycling when he was only sixteen and cashed it all in. He saved every penny and eventually saved enough to buy a trailer, and then another and another. Now he runs a rental income empire. I learned that you really can’t judge a book by its cover and it really takes all kinds to make the world go around.
6. You begin to appreciate the routine of your own life.
Although I have the travel bug, I can’t tell you how awesome it is to arrive home and get back to my pets, as well as connecting with friends and family to share stories of my adventures. Getting back into a routine helps you appreciate what you have and the more predictable (and therefore comforting) activities of your life.
7. You find places you might never have found otherwise.
I once went on a road trip where we had planned to go to Deadwood, South Dakota. But, we didn’t know where we were going to stay for the night. We asked the locals who pointed us to Spearfish Canyon, a place with beautiful ponds, waterfalls and hiking trails. It was secluded and the scenery was breathtaking. We might not have found that spot if we weren’t open to finding new places.
Traveling is such an incredible activity. It makes you grow and learn in ways you never thought possible!
About Cynthia
Cynthia has been a life-long writer. Most of her writing centers on non-fiction, although she makes regular forays into the world of fiction. She writes over at Intuitive and Spiritual and enjoys a mindful existence, filled with journals, artwork, and walking all over the place. Her coloring book, The Tree of Life: A Coloring Journey is her newest work, published in June 2017.
