The Paradox of Travel

When we travel, we venture out and yet we find ourselves peering inside our hearts, minds and souls. We see new things, and at the same time these new things cause us to see old things in new ways. Surrounded by the unfamiliar, the familiar crystallizes in contrast and miles and miles away from our comfort zones, some things begin to hit home.

Before the journey we yearn for the getaway and think that if it doesn’t happen soon enough we will go crazy because familiarity has become so suffocating…but soon into the trip we find ourselves missing the comforts of home, our roots.

When we travel, we look forward to experiencing things that we have not experienced before. We search for novelty, but at the end of it the journey reinforces how alike all humans are. Different forms maybe, but similar substance. We may have different ways of doing things and different histories – but on deeper examination the motivation that drove us to do what we do and did are the same.

Travel costs money, quite a lot of it! But when taken as a journey into ourselves, the result is often a wiser, worldlier, more self-assured individual with more to sow and therefore, reap.

So here’s the paradox of travel: that I venture a thousand miles…only to find myself closer to what is already the closest to me. For I travel not to run away, but to get closer to my heart and home.