It has been said that when asked of people later in life, what their regrets are, they never regret traveling. Traveling is something that expands your mind, not only to see new places, but to experience different cultures, and people. Travel makes us better humans.
Travel makes the world smaller. It’s the antidote for ignorance. You begin to realize that strangers are not really strange. We all have so much more in common than differences and you realize that when you get out of your surroundings that you are accustomed to.
Our Wanderlust
It’s our wanderlust, our desire to travel, experience places, and meet new people that we hope never goes away. It’s that yearning to go to the next place, to meet the next person, that keeps us tied to humanity. We as human beings are so similar, yet for some reason, we have so much conflict. It’s easy to understand though, that if someone remains in their city or town for most of their life, that they would have a difficult time understanding the struggles or even celebrations of another culture, especially those from another country. It is the desire to not want to understand that is the confusion for us.
Curiosity of Other Cultures
Why do some people not want to know about other cultures, or want to know that there are differences, and that those differences are what make us human? There are some studies that say privilege or power is the answer to that question, yet other studies say it is fear. It is still our opinion that travel is the antidote. Perhaps if exposure to various cultures were accessible, then maybe we would all feel more connected. If we are more aware of the various cultures around the world, and have more conversations with people, and begin to learn more about their story, we would learn that each individual is a human being. Like us, they too, love, and we would be able to relate to each other on a deeper level. Maybe we would even be able to appreciate the differences as we began to understand ourselves better. In the end, maybe there would even be less conflict.
Travel Makes Us More Compassionate
Travel also gives us more empathy and compassion for others. Think about it. When you are in a place that makes you uncomfortable because you either don’t speak the language, or maybe you don’t know where you are and cannot figure out the transportation system, you feel vulnerable. You depend on the help of others to get you where you need to go. The assistance from other humans, the compassion of others is how you get what you need to survive. That empathy from someone else, in turn, is reciprocated when the gratitude comes from being helped.
You put a great deal of trust in others when you are traveling, whether it is in the service of the transportation, food you are enjoying, hospitality workers, or just the kindness of people you encounter.
Travel is Good for Our Mental Health
Not only does travel make us more open minded and compassionate but it does wonders for our mental health. It has been proven to not only build emotional resilience, but to allow us as individuals to be in the now, stillness, which is something that we rarely get these days. When we travel, we are more apt to pay attention to what is around us since it is so fresh and new. This is great mental stimulation and relieves stress from the normal activity.
Travel Helps Humanity
We truly feel that if more people had the opportunity and drive to travel, it would bring humanity together. It doesn’t have to be a huge endeavor. It can simply be a city over from yours. If given the chance, we encourage everyone to take advantage of travel. May more people have that pull to travel, the pull towards compassion for others, in what makes us all different, the beauty of humanity.
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