This year has been frustrating and crippling in so many ways, one at the top of my list has been the limitation of travel. If you know me, you know leaving the country to explore new places, cultures and peoples are one of my all-time favorite things to do. Obviously, this favorite hobby of mine has been a no go this year. And man do I miss it! Not only for the time off (though I have needed that more than I realized working from home), but also for the sense of a new adventure to embark on. Traveling gives you things you don’t even realize you need. It changes you, challenges you, makes you grow, and over the last few weeks I have been thinking about those things and how best to find the value of adventure in the here and now even if traveling looks different these days. Figured, we could all use a little more adventure right now, so here are my thoughts on how to get that value no matter what adventure looks like for you and your crew at the moment.
The Value of Adventure, the things I miss most, and how to capture those in a pandemic world:
- Traveling makes you be flexible in your plans.
The happiest you will find me most days is sitting on a plane preparing to head somewhere new. I absolutely love traveling, plane, train, automobile, doesn’t matter. I am happy with any mode of getting out of town. One of the things that makes me adore travel so much is that it forces me to be flexible, to approach life with an open hand. My controlling, very organized self doesn’t often always remember this mentality in regular life but when you are traveling you realize quickly, there is very little you can actually control. It forces you to go with the flow, to enjoy where you are in the moment, and be thankful for all you have. If 2020 has done anything, it has forced us to be flexible. To let go of what we think we control, and live with thanksgiving for the week, day, the hour we have been given. This year being flexible has officially migrated from my “Travel Rachel†mentality to my “Real Life Rachel†mentality. And I could not be more thankful! I don’t think anyone needs a lesson on being flexible after the year we have had, but maybe an encouragement instead. I hope this idea of flexibility will bleed into the very fabric of your life, not just this pandemic season. I encourage you to find ways and areas where you seek to control, and see what being flexible there could mean for you. When you travel, I have seen the more flexible you are, the more incredible the experiences you get to have. It’s not about what you are missing out on, it is about celebrating what you have and where you are.
- Exploring grows your understand of other people’s circumstances and perspectives.
It goes without saying, travel expands who you are as a person. But something I think gets overlook in that statement, is that it goes who you view others as people as well. When you are removed from your normal the lens through which you view our daily life and your surroundings changes. Sometimes it gets clearer, other times it gets foggier from the lack of routine. What I have found true for me is that my lens actually expands, my view gets bigger. I notice people and circumstances I haven’t had the time, energy, or opportunity to encounter before. I learn from them, understand their living situations, their likes, and dislikes, their thoughts, their culture. If there is something this world, especially this country, could use more of right now, it is understanding of others. Understanding does not mean you have to agree, it simply means seeing things through someone else’s eyes. Travel creates this beautiful opportunity to view the world and its inhabitants in a new way. I have missed this desperately this year, as the controversy for people who look different from you or have different circumstances has been on full display. Sounds like we could all use a field trip to the local food bank, or volunteer some time to support our teachers, or simply walk around a neighborhood that isn’t yours. Go look and see for yourself, the differences. And do something about them! See the value our differences bring us, and then use that value to make those differences seen, elevated, and challenged when needed.
- Traveling allows you to try new foods and activities you otherwise wouldn’t!
I miss new foods!!!!! Yes, I just used too many exclamation points but I don’t care. I love cooking, but it is getting old after all of the meals at home I have had this year. I miss picking a new place to eat in a new city, based on reviews or not, just to enjoy something completely new. Combinations I would never have thought of, or a plant I’ve never heard of, or spices not used in my country. To remedy this in a pandemic world, I have found myself ordering new foods from local places, joining Facebook groups that offer food recommendations and new places opening up to try, also I have done a few virtual cooking classes to spice things up in my own kitchen. I cannot recommend this to you enough! Taking cooking classes in countries I am in, is literally one of my favorite activities to do while I am there. These virtual ones have been so fun, even if they are in my own kitchen. I have still been able to cook with instructors from all over the world and try new dishes and it has been so fun! Traveling Spoon is a great company to start with if you are looking for something like this to enjoy with your family or friends!
The same can be true of activities. I have done all kinds of things while on vacation that I “don’t have the time for†when I am home. I have hung out with lions, gone ziplining, explored aquariums, zoos, marketplaces, historical sites, etc. And you know what I figured out during a pandemic? Those things exist here in my own hometown too, and most of them are outside! I have enjoyed being a tourist in my own home (or new home rather since I just moved here a few months ago). But it has been so fun to plan a day or two to experiences these “vacation activities†right in my backyard, and a bit more cost-effective too! I challenge you to do the same in your area, or somewhere within driving distance. Find a zoo or a historical landmark, include coffee from a fun place, pick up lunch at a new shop, and make a day of it! Explore new places, even if it doesn’t feel like a vacation right now. The value in these types of experiences goes well beyond where they happen and has more to do with how they impact you. They create happiness, memories, conversations, and a genuine connection with the community around you. Just a few things we could all use a little bit of these days.
- Travel helps you realize just how small you really are.
I have never felt more tiny or insignificant than standing under the vast canvas of stars in Iceland staring up as the Northern Lights dance across the sky, or loving on huge elephants in Thailand as they feed and play in the mud. There is something about being in nature or around huge creatures that reminds us how very small we actually are, and it is humbling. This working from home season has been nothing if not humbling. I haven’t worn a full face of makeup in months, LITERALLY MONTHS! My daily work attire consists of workout clothes and the occasional nice work top with shorts on the bottom (zoom professional as I like to say). Things I thought were necessary or important before all of this has been redefined and I have been humbled not only in my outward appearance but in my soul. Travel does this to me as well. I am constantly aware of how small I am in comparison to the world, the Creator of the world, and the massive amounts of things going on at any given second. For some people, this feeling of smallness makes them feel insignificant. For me, it challenges me to make the most of who I am, what I have been given, and to let go of everything else. It will take care of itself, I am not necessary for the world to continue to rotate. My selfish, inward gaze very quickly gets reoriented outward and that’s where I want it to be. I want to be focused on others, on serving them well, and making whatever impact I can have on the world, even if it is small. Being small, makes me work harder towards something big. Because I believe, God takes all the small things and adds them up to something significant and that then makes my life significant.
Feeling small in a pandemic has looked very different than I expected. Sometimes it is looking out my window and really watching what is going on the world around me. Other times it is getting out into nature and just walking around, remembering I am more than someone behind a computer screen, but also not the ruler of the universe so why can’t everyone play by my rules. You know? This perspective shift is VITAL to be this year though as I have spent many, MANY hours alone. So a good amount of the time, my world is just me. I could feel justified in my selfishness, but I don’t want that to be who I am after this pandemic so, in order to fight that habit from forming, I have to constantly look up. Find your own opportunities to look up by driving to the ocean, or climbing a mountain, catching the night sky filled with stars outside of the city one evening. Whatever it looks like, find that wonder, that feeling of awe and humility. You will need it more than you know!
These are some of my favorite things about traveling and boy, I can’t wait to get back on the road or in the skies in 2021. But until it is safer, understanding the value of travel and how I can find it where I am now, has been incredibly helpful to me as I continue to navigate this pandemic season. I hope the same will be true for you! Leave a comment to share with us how you are continuing to experience the value of travel right now. I’d love to hear your suggestions!
