{"id":118948,"date":"2018-11-21T08:26:54","date_gmt":"2018-11-21T16:26:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/?p=118948"},"modified":"2018-11-21T08:26:54","modified_gmt":"2018-11-21T16:26:54","slug":"why-traveling-will-transform-your-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/2018\/11\/21\/why-traveling-will-transform-your-life\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Traveling Will Transform Your Life"},"content":{"rendered":"

Traveling will help you discover new truths to live a happier life:<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

What is travel?<\/h2>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Dear friend,<\/p>\n

A question I’m pondering:<\/p>\n

\n What is travel? Is traveling good? If so, why?\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\n

How far do you really need to go?<\/h2>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

This is the interesting thing;<\/p>\n

\n How far does one need to travel from their house for their activity to be considered “travel”?\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

For example, most people would consider going to a foreign country (international, not your nation) as “traveling”. If you go to a different state, that’s probably considered “traveling”.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Yet, let’s say you drive an hour from your house. Is that “traveling”? Or 30 minutes from your house?<\/p>\n

\n

Toilsome journey<\/h2>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

I was curious, so I searched the etymology for the word “travel<\/a>“. To my surprise, the general notion of “travel” meant “toilsome journey”.<\/p>\n

In other words,<\/p>\n

Traveling was seen as undesirable.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The close word that comes to mind is the French, “travailler<\/a>“, which means “to trouble, to be worn out, suffer”.<\/p>\n

Obviously we don’t want to trouble ourselves, suffer, or to be worn out.<\/p>\n

But in modern times, to travel is seen as a privilege. To travel is only for the rich, fancy, privileged, and successful.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

So when we think of traveling, why do we see it as desirable, and why do we enjoy it?<\/p>\n

\n

“My passion is traveling!”<\/h2>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Whenever I ask people what they’re passionate about, or what they want to do after they retire, or if they didn’t need to work for a living, they usually say “I want to travel more”.<\/p>\n

I’m always a little suspicious when I hear this. I wonder:<\/p>\n

\n Do they really want to travel more, or do they think<\/em> they want to travel more, because society tells them that “successful” people travel a lot?\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Obviously I cannot answer for others. But I can speak for myself.<\/p>\n

Why I wanted to travel<\/h2>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

To be frank, I wanted to travel from the age of 20 because I was bored of home. I was hungry for adventure, exploration, and I always thought that “the grass was greener on the other side.”<\/p>\n

I also felt a lack of motivation in my photography. I thought to myself,<\/p>\n

\n If I lived in Paris (like Henri Cartier-Bresson) I would be inspired to shoot photos all the time and be eternally happy!\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

When I went abroad and traveled for the first time, I was disappointed. I over-hyped traveling so much, that I was massively disappointed to find out that foreign countries and cities weren’t that<\/em> different. And to my dismay, I didn’t take the world-changing photographs I desired to shoot.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

So when I got back home, I wondered to myself:<\/p>\n

\n What’s the point or purpose of traveling?\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

For the next decade (age 20 to age 30) I traveled the world to discover the answers and truths for myself.<\/p>\n

I found a few answers.<\/p>\n

\n

1. Uncomfortable is good<\/h2>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

My idea:<\/p>\n

\n Traveling is enjoyable because it is simulated poverty.\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

When you travel, you’re like a broke college student again. You cannot carry that much stuff with you (which forces you to be more minimalist, and carry fewer things). When you’re traveling, your day-to-day is more simple.<\/p>\n

You then start to challenge yourself;<\/p>\n

\n Why do I own so much shit back home? Do I really need all these possessions to make me “happy”?\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

For example when I’m traveling, I have no desire to buy fancy clothes, fancy cars, or fancy homes. My life is much simpler; I focus on making art, thinking, walking, talking, and experiencing things first-handedly.<\/p>\n

So when people want “luxury travel”, it makes no sense to me. It’s almost a contradiction.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The point of traveling is to suffer a little bit; the uncomfort is actually enjoyable!<\/strong><\/p>\n

So perhaps in life,<\/p>\n

\n Life is better when we avoid comfort. A little uncomfort in our life makes us happier!\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Like the ancient Roman saying:<\/p>\n

\n Comfort is the road to waste.\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\n

2. Active<\/h2>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

When you’re traveling you’re more active. You’re not stuck at home, watching Netflix or doing other passive activities, or playing video games, etc.<\/p>\n

When you’re traveling, you’re more active. You go out. You do stuff. You meet people. You talk to folks. You walk. You expose yourself to the heat and cold.<\/p>\n

So my idea is this:<\/p>\n

\n Perhaps an active life is a happier life.\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

3. Making more photos<\/h2>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Photo making is our art form.<\/p>\n

\n The more art I make, the happier I am.\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

In fact, I’m only “happy” when I’m in the active flow of creation. This is when I’m intense reading, intense writing, intense photographing, intense teaching, or intense music or poetry making.<\/p>\n

Thus, the good thing about traveling is you’re going to naturally shoot more photos! Why? You got nothing else to do!<\/p>\n

4. Novelty<\/h2>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

When you travel, all is exotic. And that’s interesting to us.<\/p>\n

Thus this is my other proposition:<\/p>\n

\n A happy life requires some novelty.\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

A life where 100% of my schedule was pre-arranged with no randomness or chaos or chance would be my personal hell.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

As humans, I think we all desire some form of novelty. We want new music, new art, new smells, new people, new foods, new ideas!<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

And I think it’s our hunger for novelty is what drives our spirit of exploration!<\/strong><\/p>\n

Thus don’t be one of those productivity nerds; recognize that randomness, chance, and the new is good!<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Thus with traveling, I recommend going to places and experiencing cultures which are totally different, such as:<\/p>\n