I was inspired to write this while watching a JK Rowling Speech and to reflect on my own traveling experiences. What do I know from traveling for sure? There is a lot I do know and so perhaps I’ll make more post on this subject but I wanted to share at least 5 things I for sure know from traveling.

Question Everything

Wow I never knew how strong I was until I started traveling on my own. I never knew my capabilities and my weaknesses. They all came to light when I was confident to question why? Why do I have to do things that way? Is there a better way? Questioning everything helped me realize that not all is what it seems and that it’s my duty to question everything. This saves me money, time and maybe even my life. While you’re traveling, if something doesn’t feel right, it probably isn’t. It’s a good idea to be curious (with some limits), have some understanding and then take action. Travel has made me informed, confident and question BS wherever I see it. As a traveler I have a responsibility to push myself and to question everything whether they are well established or not.

Learning to Accept

However there are times where I can’t change a situation. In the end it’s accepting situations that bring me the greatest understanding, peace and a better travel experience. How do I know this? Because I’ve tried both ways and sometimes accepting is the only option.

What do I mean be acceptance? Most of the time it’s in the travelers interest to accept certain situations as they are. This only is after nothing can be done to change the situation. Say you’ve missed your flight or luggage is lost. Anybody would be upset but I’ve noticed that it’s the people who can handle it the best and accept the current situation that fair the best. Sometimes the issues are way more complex than that and involve the final decision of doing nothing. After acceptance comes action and any action is usually better. In travel, you can’t feel bad for yourself too long.

Grey Areas Exist

There are situations when traveling that fall in grey areas. I have learned that it’s okay to lie in some instances and it’s okay to be the outside tourist who doesn’t understand it all. You may not agree with anything from another culture but to be the person who is there and seeing for themselves is good enough. Once you listen to others, hear stories from all sides, the picture becomes a little blurry sometimes and I’m not always sure what I’m being told is correct. That’s ok. It’s also ok that I don’t have to have an opinion on any side. I can simply be there to listen to others and be considerate, even when I don’t know which side is right. As a tourists, I can teach others about my life back at home but I can’t expect they will agree or disagree or even care. I’m simply there to understand. Understanding leads to mostly positive changes in me which I love and it teaches me to be patient. There is no need to jump to conclusions because the world is more complex than people realize.

I’m Lucky

And you’re lucky too if you’re reading this. Most of us have been given the opportunity to actually travel and see the world. Most of the world does not have that option. Traveling to third world countries opened my eyes of what life is really like for most people and yet people are still generous, humble and pleasant.

I sit here and feel humbled that I’m able to write these words and travel to 40+ countries already in my short life-time. This is what makes me catch myself every time I complain about spending money on a cab to an airport, or how much a cruise is. I’m complaining about money while going on vacation on a plane to a foreign destination. It’s stupid because some people don’t even have vacation or even know what that is. Really once you realize this and put yourself in someone else’s place, you begin to realize that there is no room for worrying and complaining.

It’s all a Crap-shoot

This is dark but I think important to understand. Many people don’t travel out of fear. Fear that a plane will go down. Fear that they’ll die while on vacation. Fear of something that doesn’t exist. I actually understand this and lately it has me questioning a lot about fear. I’m mostly in fear of dying somewhere in some horrible way. Is this likely to happen, no, but it’s still possible. But I’ve reconciled this thought by understanding why I have this fear in the first place.

Because I think we all fear what’s unknown. However what’s unknown is what makes traveling exciting. If we knew what was going to happen I think there would be a lot less people traveling and experiencing. Of course always use caution and make the best decision when it’s presented but if a situation is out of your hands then it’s out of your hands. Surrender to that fact and travel will seem less scary and more exciting.

And to be honest, life isn’t fair, and traveling certainly isn’t fair. Nobody wants their wallet stolen. Nobody can predict strangers to come to their rescue. Nobody thinks their plane is going to go down. We never know any of these things because traveling is all a crap-shoot. So be scared but quickly get over it and take action. We fear most situations that will never happen to us and it certainly won’t stop me from doing what I truly love. Travel is a crap-shoot but so is life. I have found peace with that and if you can too it will make your travels 10 times better, I promise.

What do you know from traveling for sure? Feel free to comment below. I’m surprised with every year I travel how much I gain and also how much I lose. I gain more wisdom and I lose the negative feelings bringing me down. I’m a better person because of travel.

images by: thomas