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The Point of Travel

We travel more than ever but rarely pause to ask ourselves why we’re going – or what we should be trying to change about ourselves by taking off.

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45 Comments

  • There are still spiritual pilgrimages today to Jerusalem, Mecca, Rome, The Ganges River and Sri Pada, albeit different reasons than before. The days of massed organized religion is fading and personal spirituality is rising! But remember the wisdom of the community is important.

  • Well this actually is mostly just an opinion on what the video’s maker thinks travel should be for. 

  • I went to the U.S. as a student to develop my independence (living far away from home) and my extraversion (basically the culture of the U.S. and how they speak). So far it’s been going great. 🙂

  • Having just come home from a solo backpacking trip, I promise you that it’s not really the destination that will turn you into a better version of yourself, it’s challenging yourself and opening up to all possibilities that’ll do that:)

    • Almost 100% with you on that. Traveling solo depends much on your ability to overcome somewhat uncomfortable situations and face whatever odds you find in your way. But I really do think that the place and timing have influence on that as well..

    • Marco Yamada That’s very true, every place offers different challenges and situations, which also depend on timing 🙂 

    • I tend to agree with The School of Life. Trips to the Utah desert or to Porto Seguro are obviously completely different and will knock on different parts of your soul.

  • I stumbled upon this video, and wow, it describes exactly my life in the last 2 years. Headed to a trip and i still cant measure the impact of the experiences i have had, but certainly i came back with a completely different perspective of my life. And funny thing is, i’m just the example in the video (dealing with anxiety in Ireland). To travel is to feed one’s soul!

  • That’s a very interesting and thought-provoking way of looking at travelling. Thank you for sharing.

  • There is one more interesting thing that seldom gets pointed out.. I think the reason why I would say that traveling is important is that it helps us unlearn. All throughout our lives, we are conditioned by the society that we grow up in – this consciously and unconsciously shapes our thought process, by traveling however.. people go to places where their previous beliefs are tested, broken and reformed. Through constant/periodic traveling – one might say, that the very foundation of our personality is given a chance to re-evolve. This iteration of beliefs is important and necessary because it lets us find the bedrock of our very being. In other words – it finds us a home; it’s this home where our heart truly resides.

  • This is such a great video! Thank you, you have helped answer lot of questions for me.
    Ever since I was a teenager, I have always had this urge to travel, sometimes to the point that I would get frustrated that the life I imagined travelling wasn’t transpiring as expected. I would be angry with myself about it too. I would be jealous of people who traveled as if they were having some experience that I craved. I looked at people who traveled as the most successful.
    But in last 4 years, I have taken up to meditation (guided and mindfulness) and I was surprised that the urge I had to travel slowly vanished. I still like travelling but I don’t get angry or frustrated if it doesn’t happen. After watching this video, I realize that it was that need to grow and understand myself but not really knowing HOW is what made me so angry. But now that I found a tool, I am more at peace.

  • Have to respectfully disagree here SOL.
    I think travel can purely be for enjoyment and the sake of seeing somewhere new or opening up new horizons. It doesn’t have to ‘fix’ anything in you (though it can) it can just give you new places to see. Life is short, and we only have one world. What better excuse to travel then wanting to see as much of that world as is possible in your life time? Or you may not like where you currently live and wish to see somewhere else to see if you have better outlets there.

    • That’s not traveling. That’s exploration. Exploration is a result of curiosity, while traveling is a result of man’s search for meaning.

    • That’s what essentially any today’s leisure activities are reduced to: for pure enjoyment. While I don’t think it’s wrong, I feel that we’re missing out on a big opportunity to ameliorate ourselves in this short life – especially if traveling is a luxury, which is the case for most people.

  • This is a great opinion on why we should travel! I feel pity towards the travelers/tourists who go to a destination, snap photos, and remain shut off to the experiences that could change their perspective.

    • ​@@joelopez7080Traveling is a form of therapy. I could sit on a couch and talk to someone about my fears or I could actually go on a vacation and confront them head-on and that’s what I do. It’s the most enriching thing in the world.

  • That’s how I think of travel too.
    Which is why I disagree with the idea that travelling as a way of running from your problems. While this can be our main intention in the beginning, it doesn’t last long since travelling (at least for me) makes us reflect on ourselves, be aware of who we are and put things into perspective by comparing our behaviors and actions with what others do.

  • Travel is one of the ways to appreciate life: it means to value our world, esplore it and admire the beauty of differences between peoples in the world✨ 😀

  • The very first time I traveled solo to a different area (Europe), I was 32 years old!! Even then, a whole new world of experiences opened up—made new friends, lived crazy cool experiences, and realized just how vast our world really is. Travel makes you realize how similar yet unique we all are.

    The younger you travel, the better. That being said, there are great experiences for all independently of where you find yourself-old and new, single or married, gay, straight, or whatever.

    Just go! It’ll become addictive😮

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