Travel as Transformation

My experience traveling through the Land of Smiles.

Photo by Dan Freeman on Unsplash.

Travel used to be seen as a path to transformation. It was a way to alter our perception of the world, to change how we think about the everyday things in our lives.

What’s interesting is that the advent of the information age has changed how we think about travel. Since we now have unlimited access to information and other people’s experiences, we feel less inclined to make the move ourselves.

“Traveling — it leaves you speechless, then turns you into a storyteller.” — Ibn Battuta

Furthermore, we have become consumed with the comfort of our lives. Why would we venture out of our comfort caves, where we have access to almost anything at the touch of a button? Why experience discomfort for any amount of time when we are so comfortable with the walls we built around us?

The answer is the same as it has been in all of time. Travel changes us. It gives us a new lens through which we view the world. We are armed with new perspectives, which alters our perception of things. Our new perception changes our behaviors and the way we make decisions. We are more likely to push outside of our comfort zones. When we travel, our limits for what we can do are shifted.

“The world is a book of many pages…