”Not all those who wander are lost.” – J.R.R. Tolkien

Why Do You Travel?

People travel for a variety of reasons – to escape routine, problems at home, boredom, relationship issues, tired of the single life or to relax from a stressful career, to seek adventure or learn something new. When you travel are you running away from something or running towards something? Escaping or discovering? Here’s my experience with both:

Running Away/Escaping

Travel is the easiest activity to run to where you can leave your life behind when you have problems and escape to destinations where no one knows you. In my opinion, this can be healthy for a short while to recharge your batteries, but in the long term can be unhealthy.

In my early 20’s in my last semester of University, I was burnt out from school, dumped by a boyfriend, and having family issues. I was feeling lost, unsure of what life would be like after university. My close friends had already left on adventures abroad to Australia, Spain, Ireland and France.  I had limited options because I was broke so I went away to work on a cruise ship for 6 months thinking I would find myself, feel anew, to let go of my past and hopefully my problems would go away.

I was wrong. When I came back, those problems were still there. Staring right back at me, patiently waiting for my return. The biggest lesson I learned was to deal with my problems in my own environment. Right here in Vancouver, not half way across the world. I had the opportunity to work for another 6 month contract on the cruiseline, come back for 2 months, and then go back again in an endless round. Had I done that, I would have always felt uprooted, stuck in a cycle of running away.

In my opinion, if you’re continually escaping from problems, you’ll always feel lost and not content with where you live, your friends or your current lifestyle. Sometimes it takes some experience travelling to learn that lesson.

Running Towards/Discovery: Crafting My Own Meaning of Life

Now in my early 30’s when I do go abroad, I travel to discover, to learn about cultures, to seek adventure and see the world with my own two eyes, not to escape from my problems.

I am content with my home life – happily married, in a creative career like I’ve always wanted, grateful for friends and family and working on exploring new passions (like this blog). I challenge myself to enjoy the small moments (but sometimes need a reminder from my husband!), appreciate and explore my own city, and learning to be in the present moment, just as I would be if I was travelling.

What I am running away when I travel is from routine and responsibilities as society sees fit and running towards new ways of thinking, seeing and discovering, crafting my own meaning for life, not what society wants me to be.

When you’re older and more established, travel becomes a “nice to have”, but not a priority, something you do when you’re young or when you retire especially when you have a mortgage, a baby and a need for retirement savings.  But then why is travel still on so many people’s minds? It must still be a priority, but pushed aside for responsibilities.

Hearing things like “You’ve done enough galavanting, time to settle down, have children, buy a house…” makes me want to scream sometimes.  Why does travelling get such a bad reputation? Why can’t travel still be a part of your lifestyle if you want it to be?

For me, it’s about defining priorities and crafting your own meaning for life. I don’t care to keep up with the Patel’s or Dhaliwal’s. It doesn’t mean I want to run away, it means I want to run towards what I value most.

Have you had a similar experience, either escaping or discovering? Why do you travel? Thoughts welcomed.

Photo credit: Trekking Rinjani