Travel can be viewed as a personal project pursued for different reasons and purposes at different times throughout our lives. In general, however, travel is said to expand our horizons, providing us with a colorful context that allows us to explore the unknown and unfamiliar: that of other places, other people and ourselves. 

 

During our travels we can step out of our world at home and immerse ourselves in another temporary world of existence; physically, mentally and emotionally.

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Travel allows us to re-define and re-invent ourselves in body, mind and soul.

 

Travel  is filled with potential experiences for transformative learning that contributes to  how we see ourselves, our sense of belonging and sense of place, our hopes and dreams. It offers us to compose a picture of the world around us - and us in it.
 

But how often do we pause and reflect on our travels?

 

In our hectic lives we generally take off on our travels not having given much thought to the way we travel. We have not considered the invisible baggage we take along on all our journeys. We have not reflected on our cultural and emotional guiding patterns and our ways of communicating.

 

The ethics we live by at home might be our treasured companions or they might be tucked away while we enjoy the temporary role as tourists. Despite our best intentions it is easy to fall back into our old habits, during our travels and upon returning home. Without being aware of it, we tend to view the world around us and us in it through our enculturated minds and hearts. This includes our inherent biases.

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No matter the reasons for our travels, we all carry our cultural and emotional baggage in our metaphorical backpacks that influence our own experiences and those of others: before, during and after our travels. 

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When we connect with our intimate selves we can re-frame our way of

seeing, doing and being.

 

 We can contribute:

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• To our own psychological and spiritual health and wellbeing.

• To the health and wellbeing of the groups and societies we live and travel in.

• To a greater sense of community, social cohesion, harmony and peace.

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It is not uncommon to hear that one cannot change the world. However, every little action creates a butterfly effect of change that we can all be part of.

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Come and join me. Unpack your backpack and explore unchartered territories.

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‘Be the change you wish to see in the world’

(Mahatma Gandhi)

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