It doesn’t get much better than traveling the world, for seeing new places, meeting new people and experiencing new things can be one of the greatest joys in living. But for me, I found the most joy in the growth of the self throughout my travels abroad. I realized what drove me wasn’t to see the next great church or museum, but rather to continue to push myself to be better, to be more, to see more and to think deeper. For if you grow as you wander, consciousness and all that is being alive grows, and each moment becomes sweeter, the connection grows stronger, and the meaning digs deeper within you. Let me try and explain…
When you’re wandering alone in a foreign country, where you don’t speak the language, and you know no one, then you’re left with every bit of who you are and little else. And if you’re not ready, it can be painful, but so rewarding. So when you’re in that kind of situation for a prolonged period of time, you begin to grow personally and intellectually, and beyond, because all of your preconceived notions about other people, and cultures, and other worlds wastes away and you, the heart and body and soul inside, learns to see other people for their hearts and bodies and souls and not for your racial judgements, cultural notions, and small-minded BS, because all of those superficial, meaningless shade washes away from your eyes and only then can you finally see.
When you don’t travel much, and you stay inside your local bubble, where these types of sicknesses run rampant, then you don’t know any better. You can become consumed by your hate. But to become more worldly with travel, then you have a chance to find out what it really feels like to be human, where you realize you’re part of a bigger whole, the human race, and we all feel, and breathe, and survive to see another day… in the same way you do. That’s what true travel is. It’s not all about seeing every cathedral in Europe or marking off every overhyped attraction, travel is more about the journey, not the destination.
I spent nine months roaming Europe and Northern Africa with only my rucksack on my back and I loved the change from the typical American-mindset to a more worldly one. I grew as a person, socially, mentally, and spiritually, and wouldn’t take any moment of my trip back. My mind opened to the truths of our world and reality, about the human condition, about what’s real and what’s propaganda, and I learned what is was to be free. I survived with everything strapped to my back, but it was also the thing that freed me. I didn’t need to go into every tourist trap or shop and buy souvenirs, my souvenirs were stored in my mind, etched into my heart, and sometimes saved as a frozen memory with my camera. I became free, because I had no room to carry anything else, and so I shed all desire to ‘need’ things, and so I became free of materialism, consumerism, and simply lived to experience and nothing more. And it was beautiful.
Now, when I travel, I travel slow and meaningful. Backpacking is scary for many, because either they’re scared of what might happen to them, or they’re scared that something might actually happen to them. If you’re feeling confused about the world, about how you feel, about whatever indoctrinations you’ve believed, I implore you to travel. Slowly. Strap on a pack, fill it with what you need to survive and nothing more, and just see where it will take you, and when you’re there, be it not the destination but a stop along the journey, always remember to slow down, take a deep breath, and to look around. Take in every detail, every scent, every face, and consider. Some of the best moments along my journeys was getting the chance to drop the pack on the ground and to sit and watch, because without those solitary moments of mind, much of the beauty of life would have passed me by. And I’m guessing the same might be true for you too.
When you don’t travel much, and you stay inside your local bubble, where these types of sicknesses run rampant, then you don’t know any better. You can become consumed by your hate. But to become more worldly with travel, then you have a chance to find out what it really feels like to be human, where you realize you’re part of a bigger whole, the human race, and we all feel, and breathe, and survive to see another day… in the same way you do. That’s what true travel is. It’s not all about seeing every cathedral in Europe or marking off every overhyped attraction, travel is more about the journey, not the destination.
I spent nine months roaming Europe and Northern Africa with only my rucksack on my back and I loved the change from the typical American-mindset to a more worldly one. I grew as a person, socially, mentally, and spiritually, and wouldn’t take any moment of my trip back. My mind opened to the truths of our world and reality, about the human condition, about what’s real and what’s propaganda, and I learned what is was to be free. I survived with everything strapped to my back, but it was also the thing that freed me. I didn’t need to go into every tourist trap or shop and buy souvenirs, my souvenirs were stored in my mind, etched into my heart, and sometimes saved as a frozen memory with my camera. I became free, because I had no room to carry anything else, and so I shed all desire to ‘need’ things, and so I became free of materialism, consumerism, and simply lived to experience and nothing more. And it was beautiful.
Now, when I travel, I travel slow and meaningful. Backpacking is scary for many, because either they’re scared of what might happen to them, or they’re scared that something might actually happen to them. If you’re feeling confused about the world, about how you feel, about whatever indoctrinations you’ve believed, I implore you to travel. Slowly. Strap on a pack, fill it with what you need to survive and nothing more, and just see where it will take you, and when you’re there, be it not the destination but a stop along the journey, always remember to slow down, take a deep breath, and to look around. Take in every detail, every scent, every face, and consider. Some of the best moments along my journeys was getting the chance to drop the pack on the ground and to sit and watch, because without those solitary moments of mind, much of the beauty of life would have passed me by. And I’m guessing the same might be true for you too.
These days, I use a pack that acts as my adventure companion, rather than just some burden strapped to my shoulders. Deuter is one of my favorite companies, because they understand the finer details that go into making sure a backpack is properly suited for a real adventurer. I learned the hard way along my nine month trek, and the first lesson was what not to pick for a backpack, because within the first few hours off the plane in Barcelona, I already had developed sores inside my arms, back pain and sore shoulders, all due to choosing the wrong pack. When you’re living out of a pack for an extended period of time, you learn to appreciate the finer details that go into a proper rucksack.
For example, Deuter’s AirContact Lite 65+10 pack has a comfortable carrying system, a back length adjustment system, gear attachment loops, and much more. It’s built lightweight, yet is bursting with features like the H2O pocket, the secure valuables pocket, lid pocket, and capabilities of expanding the volume it holds. That’s important, since when you’re traveling long enough to run into the weather conditions of all four seasons, you tend to collect lots of clothing.
The AirContact Lite 65+10 is built to keep you feeling good even though you’re the one bearing the weight for hours upon hours. The key to the design is the anatomic profiled X-frame that helps to transfer weight on the hips, which has the ability to be flexible, yet stable as the internal frame follows the movements of your body. That’s something I sorely needed when I first started my trip, but after a few hours of a bad pack, I bought a slightly better pack and suffered for another month before sucking it up and buying a pack like this one by Deuter.
If you would like to find out more about Deuter’s packs, click here.
(Photo by peakdistrict-photo via Flickr)
For example, Deuter’s AirContact Lite 65+10 pack has a comfortable carrying system, a back length adjustment system, gear attachment loops, and much more. It’s built lightweight, yet is bursting with features like the H2O pocket, the secure valuables pocket, lid pocket, and capabilities of expanding the volume it holds. That’s important, since when you’re traveling long enough to run into the weather conditions of all four seasons, you tend to collect lots of clothing.
The AirContact Lite 65+10 is built to keep you feeling good even though you’re the one bearing the weight for hours upon hours. The key to the design is the anatomic profiled X-frame that helps to transfer weight on the hips, which has the ability to be flexible, yet stable as the internal frame follows the movements of your body. That’s something I sorely needed when I first started my trip, but after a few hours of a bad pack, I bought a slightly better pack and suffered for another month before sucking it up and buying a pack like this one by Deuter.
If you would like to find out more about Deuter’s packs, click here.
(Photo by peakdistrict-photo via Flickr)
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