You have probably already understood: I am passionate about travel! And it’s no coincidence that I’m writing these lines from Bali where I’m also preparing the launch of Made in Sandhi.
Not being from a family of travelers, when I was younger I escaped by immersing myself in books. Whether it’s leaps in history, novels with characters from different socio-cultural backgrounds, or texts inspired by distant lands, I have always travelled.
And as I grew up my wings opened and I began to fly…here and elsewhere…
When people ask me if I would like to visit such and such a country, I almost always answer that I would like to be able to visit the whole world; I exclude few places, those dangerous for a single woman, those where extremism reigns, or also those that require flying north.
I like Freedom and I am attracted by the light and the heat of the sun! That’s what I am, but each of us must be able to follow our instincts and the direction of our own heart, no matter the destination, the distance or the duration, only the Travel that each can and wants to devote to themselves counts .
I am far from having seen all the places I would like to go, but my travels have already taught me a lot and it is precisely these lessons that I want to share with you.
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The journey is not an escape!
In truth, it was the others who made me think about this concept, after I was asked several times: do you continue to travel because you are not satisfied with your life? do you want to escape from something? Or sometimes seeing the perplexed faces of those who learned that I was going to leave for a new trip… One day, a very good friend told me (quoting a song by Reggiani) Venice is not in Italy, Venice is everywhere is where you are happy. I completely agree with this statement, but the subtext was clear… And quite simply I don’t see the connection with my desire to travel as soon as I have the possibility! I don’t believe that we travel to escape our life, but on the contrary to prevent life from escaping us!My conviction is that it is precisely the daily routine that has caused time to slip through our fingers too quickly. We should be grateful for the security that modern society gives us, but we should also not forget that we are not made for monotony . Our distant ancestors were not sedentary but indeed nomads, the road to be taken each day could be long or short, but each time it was a new adventure for survival. It is therefore a certainty, traveling is a great way to interrupt the monotony and increase our dedication to life .“If you think adventure is dangerous, try routine. She’s deadly!Paolo Coelho
Travel changes our relationship to time
In the West we often hear that time flies when you’re having fun, but in reality some studies show otherwise. They indicate that the perception of time passing quickly is due to the fact of not devoting sufficient energy to the world around us., in particular by always repeating the same activities. When we are in repetition, our brain is not stimulated and it sends us signals that time is passing quickly. How many times, after a week of routine, do you find yourself saying that the week has passed in the blink of an eye. Differently when we do something unusual, our brain tends to perceive the experience as longer. For example, we will be quite capable of remembering the chronological order of the stages of a trip, whereas very often we do not remember what we did the day before yesterday when we are in our daily routine. Finally, I want to share with you a sentence that was said to me during my first trip to Africa: you have the watches, we have the time…No need to add anything…”Travel is a return to basics”Tibetan proverb
Traveling is good for our body
One of the extraordinary benefits of travel is that it promotes physical activity . Whether it’s crossing an airport, walking the streets of a new city, indulging in long walks on huge beaches or climbing a mountain, travel takes us out of our office chair and out of our sofa! I’m sure you already know this, but it’s easy to forget: playing sports (and I’m not talking about running a marathon!) lowers blood pressure and therefore probably reduces the risk of disease. cardiovascular. So if you are already convinced, prepare your suitcase or backpack, and go for a little physical activity, your health will benefit and it will even be the opportunity to increase your life expectancy!
Traveling is good for our brain
Travel contributes to the good health of our brain in particular because it helps us to keep a sharp and active mind . When we are in a new place or facing new experiences, we stimulate our brains. He takes all this as a positive challenge to succeed in taming the new environment and therefore improving cognitive perception. All this activity promotes cellular connections and therefore potentially contributes to protecting us from degenerative neurological diseases, such as dementia or Alzheimer’s disease. Travel helps us train our memory and concentration, for example to remember new routes, the few words to pronounce in the local language, and all the encounters made. Traveling means discovery and there is no doubt that it does us good. So even if you like to vacation in the same place every year, always look for new places or activities that will allow your brain to enjoy all the benefits of a real trip.
Travel helps to better manage stress
Stress, the great evil of our time, that caused by a life where you always have to prove that you are on top of things, to be able to manage several things at the same time, to correspond to the rules of society at the risk of not to be integrated into it… We sometimes spend more time fearing what might happen, rather than enjoying what is really happening. On the contrary, the trip allows us to indulge in spontaneity and live in the present moment , it is a joyful parenthesis in the usual routine .and there are no rigid predefined rules. Ideally, a trip should not include any planning, only a date of departure and return, remaining open to all the proposals that the Universe will send us. Several studies have shown that traveling helps to get rid of stress and relax after just one or two days, so you don’t have to wait until you have a month off to be able to feel good. In the same way, the mere fact of planning a weekend or a longer stay contributes to generating a feeling of happiness; having a positive project in mind for the near future is stimulating and rewarding. Finally, studies also show that travel is a source of adrenaline (triggered by the feeling of difficulty facing a totally unknown environment) and that those who experience the increase in it will be more predisposed to positively face the changes that life will impose on them. . Awesome, right?!” Traveling makes you modest, you can better see the place you occupy in the world ”Gustave Flaubert
Travel opens new perspectives
Our time is precious and the world is vast and wonderful! Stepping out of our comfort zone helps us understand and value what is truly important. Seeing with your own eyes how other cultures live, especially outside the Western world polluted by marketing and money, improves our ability to observe with a different eye and to put our little corner of the world into perspective . Do you really think that when you’re old you’ll remember the things you’ve bought throughout your life? Unlikely. More likely you will see behind you all these incredible landscapes, places and wonderful encounters made along the way. Observing the difference helps us to free ourselves from our prejudices and to experiment with alternative ways of life.. So we live life with more openness and depth. Leaving our territory makes us understand that we are not the center of the world, that there are so many other realities outside our borders and that, despite our daily difficulties, we are lucky to be born in a place that gives us so many options and possibilities. Travel teaches us to put things into perspective! So let’s stop complaining and learn to look at life from another angle!
Travel helps us connect to our deepest interior
Travel expands our perspectives, not only of the world but also of ourselves. Traveling is also taking time for yourself, rediscovering who we really are and what makes us happy . Seeing new places and meeting new people helps to improve self-awareness. All this promotes our personal development. Some might doubt it, but it’s true! A banal example: the mere fact of tasting new foods teaches us something about ourselves. Knowing what you like or not is already knowing something more than before leaving. Some countries have completely different products from ours and we might discover that something we thought we couldn’t do without, we don’t really miss that much. Similarly, we can sense where we feel most comfortable or where we should learn to appreciate more. Strange but wonderful possibility, to feel at home where we had never been before. Finally, I also want to tell you that travel helps to increase self-esteem. Being in unknown places (especially alone) can be difficult, but when we manage to live in the moment, we go beyond our limits and we manage to do something that we would never have thought possible; it’s a great way to improve self-confidence and be proud of who we are!”The path that leads from self to selfgoes around the world”
Hermann von Keyserling
I would still have a lot to tell you about what a trip can offer, about the riches of new encounters, about how it frees our creativity and also promotes the feeling of love. I will most definitely come back. And you, what do you think of traveling? Are you more adventurous or on the contrary more attached to the same places? Did you experience anything unexpected or magical while visiting a new place? Share with me your comments, just reading you will also be a wonderful journey.
