Of the beaten path – mental travel adventures –
Travelers are always looking for something. We wander off in search for a beach, the sun or a vibrant city. However, many long journeys tend to reveal more then just the end destination. By travelling, we might discover different things then we initially expected or wished for. We do not only find these discoveries in the physical world, but also in our mental world. Some of them will change us forever.
Experienced travelers are aware of the strong mental process that occurs during long journeys. While planning their next journey, they might not embark on a search for beaches and palm trees. Their explorations become more ambitious, and they start to search for important life changing experiences. Travel becomes their cure whenever they experience negative thoughts like narrow-mindedness or prejudice. They also become social doctors when they inspire other people with similar negative thoughts.
Travel transforms us into different human beings, and how different are we already when narrow-mindedness and other negative thoughts leave our mind. Their is simply no place for them, and we realize that once we start traveling. Changes in the way we think, can occur quickly when we are detached from our safe habitat.
The mental ascent
The more I travel in the physical world, the more I begin to understand that the real important transformation lies is the journey of the mind. And when it comes to that, we all travel. However, it depends on our willingness to step out of our comfort zone, if our mental path becomes a dull flat ride or an adventurous and challenging climb to the top of a high mountain.
We need to step out of our comfort zones and climb those mental mountains. It is at the tops of those mountains that we will have the best view about our lives. The top also provides a view at other climbable peaks. Then we most likely want to climb them as well. We become addicted to the challenge. It will become our mental fuel. It is at those moments that we become the journey.
Travel has become an addiction. We take the first step and then there will be a next one and a next one. But the road does not always goes up. After we reach the top, we eventually have to come down again. New challenges arise. Our paths can become increasingly difficult, once we embark on a serious mental journey.
What comes up must go..
Simple and flat physical roads, which have led us to tropical beaches and beautiful sunsets, now transform into much more challenging mental paths. They become curving and crawling roads, complicated intermingled knots, which not only lead us to the highest tops but also to the inner depths of our minds. And it is at those depths that we will discover a whole lot of other important aspects about our minds.
Are you climbing a mental mountain at the moment? What kind of mental discoveries are you experiencing during your climb? Did you already reach the top? What became clear when you reached that mental peak? Maybe you are already on your way down? I would also love to hear what your experiences are regarding to that mental process.
Useful Links
- Annette Birkmann: I got really inspired when reading about the adventures of this brave lady. That is why I started reading her blog. She often writes about the mental challenges that we all face during our lives and during our travels. I definitely recommend her blog and website to everyone.
- Why adventure travel is good for your mind: When doing research about the subject of mental changes during travel, I found this nice slide from an adventure company. It describes 10 reasons why adventure travel is good for your mental health. I especially like number 10, which describes how an adventurous trip can effectively change negative habits.
- Back to the Home Page