I’ve always believed that travelling can be impactful. It gives you a chance to step outside your comfort zone and get some perspective on things. However, I have also found that not everyone feels the same way about travel as I do. In this blog post, I will share with you the 10 powerful ways travel will heal your life.
While travel is a privilege, it has the healing power to bring love to others and ourselves
Travel is a privilege: a privilege that should be considered carefully and used just as carefully. As travel entrepreneur, Beth Santos once said, ‘travel is a political act‘.
I’d like to share a story that is at once hurtful and hopeful. Many years ago, I decided to go to Cambodia. It was an attempt to distract myself from the pain of a breakup. One evening while having dinner at a restaurant a visibly pregnant woman stood outside in my line of vision. She looked directly at me. She did not utter a word. At her feet was a toddler holding onto the hem of her dress. However, I knew she needed my help. I did help her financially. But I am also guilty of being annoyed at her. Annoyed because how could she bring so much suffering to her life and that of her toddler and unborn child? As I pressed her about her life choices I didn’t realise it then but I was not helping her. I did not realise my privilege then. Dealing with my own pain, I thought I was helping her by giving her unsolicited advice. I’ll never forget the look on her face: immense sorrow as though she was letting me down. I didn’t know it then until a few months later when a fellow traveller pointed it out to me. I had acted arrogantly with painful judgment. What did I know about her or know of her life, her choices, or lack thereof? Nothing.
I was using her home, her country to escape my own. While doing so I was sullying her life experience with my very limited understanding and judgment. Today, I know I didn’t share with her the experience she deserved. I know better. I know my privilege. It is that privilege I use to understand, learn, grow, give, receive, and very importantly, to listen. In Africa, we talk about the concept of ubuntu, which translates to the presence of humanity in others. It means, “I am what I am because of who we all are”.
Travelling is a great way to get outside your comfort zone and take risks
One of the biggest healing benefits of travelling is that it allows you to get outside your comfort zone. Travelling can force you to take risks that would be much harder in your regular life. It also helps you learn how to deal with unexpected changes. You’re forced to be flexible and adapt quickly when situations change unexpectedly during your journey. When I decided to go to Cambodia for a few weeks, a direct flight to the country from South Africa was expensive. I decided I would fly to Thailand and then catch a train from Bangkok to the Thai/Cambodian border. From the border, I’d have to organise a taxi to Siem Reap. I had been to Thailand before, but this time I was traveling alone.
My train, located at the bustling Hua Lamphong station, was scheduled to leave at dawn; I was carrying two suitcases plus hand luggage. Just before sunrise, after a night in Bangkok, I hurried to reception to check out of the hotel. Surprisingly, a seemingly endless queue of other guests waiting to check out too filled the lobby. By the time I stood outside on the corner looking for a taxi, dawn was gently settling in. I panicked. The big tour group had ushered all the available taxis in the area. The streets were empty except for a lone Thai man standing at the corner. He didn’t speak English, and my Thai was non-existent. Using my facial expressions and repetition of the word ‘taxi’, I pled with him to help me find a car to the train station. Needless to say, I made it just in time after the kind man advocated on my behalf to the taxi driver.
Travel can help you make new friends, which can help inspire you to make positive changes in your life
Travelling is a great way to meet new people and make meaningful connections. When you’re travelling, you don’t have the same responsibilities, obligations, and commitments that you have at home. Because of this, you’re not too worried about conforming to an ideal of what your life should be at any given moment nor are you concerned with what people may think of you. It’s easier to be yourself and let your guard down around people who are new to you. You might find yourself opening up more than usual and sharing things about yourself that normally wouldn’t come up in conversation with someone at home. Perhaps it’s knowing that you may never see that person again that helps to let your guard down.
Making friends and other meaningful connections opens our minds up to different ways of thinking about life and being in the world. It’s beautiful to know that we can create lifelong connections, but that shouldn’t deter you from immersing yourself in seasonal friendships either. Connections give us opportunities for growth by allowing us to learn from each other’s experiences – especially when those experiences are very different from our own. Making new friends is one of my favourite things to do when I travel. I’m shy so opening up to most people can be challenging, but as a solo traveller, it’s easier to connect with other solo travellers. These are the same people I message or call months after the end of each trip. In this way, travel is healing not only on the trip but also after the trip.
Travelling can help you reflect on your life, which can help you gain clarity about important decisions
Travelling can help you gain perspective. When you travel, you’re exposed to a new environment, someone’s home, that has its own customs, languages, and traditions. You spend some time getting to know it—what does the food taste like? How do people get around? What are their daily traditions and habits?
As you explore this new place, your mind is also expanding in other ways: You’re learning about yourself and how your views on life have been shaped by where you’ve grown up or what kind of cultural influences have surrounded you throughout your childhood. You start seeing things through the eyes of people who live in another country (or another part of town); this can help give clarity to important decisions that need to be made later on in life.
It’s a pretty simple concept, really: You can’t understand something until you get outside of your own head and see it from another perspective. When you’re travelling, you’re also forced to slow down. You have no choice—you can’t just run out for a quick meal or grab a coffee on the go. You have to sit down and eat with people. A shared meal is often the only way people really connect with each other. This forces you to pay attention and listen more closely to things you never paid attention to before. This is the power of travel.
Travelling is a great way to practice mindfulness and reduce anxiety
There are many ways in which travelling can help you heal your life. One such way is by practicing mindfulness. Mindfulness is a way of paying attention to the present moment and being aware of your thoughts, emotions, and actions. It can also help you be aware of your thoughts and emotions without judging them as right or wrong (or good or bad).
As an example, let’s say that you’re sitting on a beach enjoying the sunset with your travel buddy—you might think about how nice it feels to be there with them instead of stressing out about work back home. You might even start making plans for what you’d like to do next weekend together (hint: it involves another beach!). By practising mindfulness in this situation, you’re able to free yourself from anxiety while still appreciating all the great things around you at that moment in time!
Travelling abroad is a great way to learn more about other cultures
Travelling abroad is a great way to learn more about other cultures and how people from different backgrounds live their lives. It also helps you become more open-minded, as you’ll be surrounded by people who have different ways of doing things, who speak in another language or subscribe to diverse beliefs
Modesty is a crucial part of life on the island, which meant I had to cover my body when I wasn’t on the beach. In some cases, I was respectfully asked to cover my head too. On Pemba Island, the more conservative sister island to Unguja Island, a village chief explained that it’s not uncommon for tourists to be asked to return to their hotel to change if their dress is deemed inappropriate. I also learned to be respectful of prayer times each day knowing hotel staff and tour guides would not be available for my attention at certain moment. And while, it’s not uncommon for women and men to socialise with each other in my home country, being in Zanzibar I paid heed to the social boundaries between men and women.
Travelling allows you to experience new things first-hand, which indirectly teaches you how to approach challenges that you face in your daily life.
Travelling allows you to experience new things first-hand, which indirectly teaches you how to approach challenges that you face in your daily life.
When we travel, we are in a different environment thus our minds are forced to open to different experiences and ideas. This can help us learn how to handle unexpected situations with grace. While travelling is often fun and exciting, it also forces us out of our comfort zones and into situations where we learn to adapt as quickly as possible. This will help you learn how to overcome challenges by immersing yourself in something that requires your full attention and distracts you from the pain of losing a loved one, a job or even a pet.
Travelling is a great way to overcome grief by immersing yourself in something that will heal your life
If you’re grieving the loss of a loved one, travelling is one of the best ways to help yourself heal your life.
When I lost my partner to suicide many years ago, I found that travelling was an excellent way to get out of my comfort zone and distract myself from the pain of losing him. I started by exploring my own neighbourhood walking for many hours a day. Soon after, I visited Victoria Falls. My partner had not just been my lover but also my travel partner and mentor and seeing the Falls without him made me miss him more. However, I also realised that everything I had once been afraid to lose had already been lost and in that sense, I had nothing else to lose. I was not afraid anymore to live again. Standing in the rainforest before Victoria Falls, I made the decision to bungee jump over the Victoria Falls bridge. It was the most freeing experience I’ve ever had. Flying through the air I knew then that despite my loss, life is abundant. There’s always more.
Traveling forces you to meet new people, see new places and experience new cultures. It also helps you reflect on your life and make better decisions about where you want to go next in life.If you’re feeling overwhelmed by anxiety or need some clarity about important decisions, traveling can help with this as well because it exposes you to the abundance that is life. The abundance of new people, new places, new cultures and different ways of being.
Some places spur creativity by bringing out the best in people, so travel there and let it heal your life.
If you’re looking for a place where art and culture are everywhere, then you should consider going to Morocco, South Africa, Nigeria, Cameroon, or Egypt. There are many museums that showcase the iconic works of African artists. In addition to these museums, there is also an abundance of other cultural activities such as the Lagos Photo Festival in Nigeria, Biennale de Dakar in Senegal, Rencontres Picha in Lubumbashi in the Democratic Republic of Congo or the Sauti za Busara in Zanzibar.
If you want to explore ancient art then consider travelling to Southern Africa. Cave paintings and engravings in this region trace the early ways of the Khoi and San people. Contrary to popular belief, this art is not a reflection of daily life and hunting but a look at the connection that the Khoi and San had with earth and the spirit realm. The drawings reflect the beings the Khoi and San would have been in contact with as they danced and prayed while in a trance.
When I have travelled, I have always gained a new perspective on life
On my travels, I have seen so many amazing things about this planet. I have learned that there are more similarities than differences between us all. It has taught me that we all want the same thing out of life: happiness, respect, love, family, and friends.
Travel has also shown me that life is abundant; there is always more. Life can be crazy and challenging. Sometimes so challenging that we can’t find the strength to put one foot in front of the other. However, there is still another sunrise, another delicious meal and another kind word to be heard when we break from the prison of our own pain. There is also another song to be sung, another story to be told, another beach to stroll along, another animal to pet, another friendship to create, another hand to hold, another story to be told and another thank you to be said.
You can’t put a price on the joy of travel. Traveling is a powerful way to expand your horizons, learn about new cultures and meet new people. The connections you make with people can last a lifetime. And there are so many incredible destinations around the world that await your discovery! Gaining a new perspective is one of the ways travel will heal your life.