The question of why we travel is one that I've kept returning to over the past couple of months.
I've been reflecting on why we travel, the experiences we seek, the feelings we want to evoke and, crucially, how we often get in our own way.
And the more I've thought about it, the more philosophical it's gotten. Enjoy this trip into the deep waters of travel philosophy.
As I've thought deeper and listened longer, two words in particular have come up again and again.
Awe and
wonder.
What is it that generates those sumptuous, sweet feelings of awe, wonder and delight in us when we travel? And how we can thoughtfully craft adventures that optimise for awe?
To work this out I've trekked across fields - across the fields of psychology and philosophy. I've spoken to both travellers and people who work in travel. And I've tried to decipher what it is that makes travel feeling meaningful and awe-inspiring.
This kind of hyperbole is far too overused, but in this case it's genuinely true: I've changed the way I think about travel.
What makes a meaningful trip?
Nobel-prize winning psychologist Daniel Kahneman distinguished between our 'experiencing self' (there in the moment) and the 'remembering self' (the one who makes sense of what we experienced and creates a story around it).
Our brains need time to create meaningful memories. So the way to create a truly unforgettable trip often isn't to cram more in. It's to slow down and allow in the awe & wonder that flood in naturally when you take the time to fully absorb where you are.
Travel, in fact, is far more like music than it is a journey. With a journey, the point is to get somewhere; from A to B. You have a purpose that you're trying to fulfil. Like a commute to work or a journey to the doctor's. Your aim is to get where you're going.
Travel - real, meaningful travel - much more closely resembles music. The point of music isn't to get to the end. Otherwise the best and most popular songs would be those with only one note! Music doesn't really have a point. There's no point in music beyond simply the enjoyment of the music itself.
And this mindset shift helps to unlock more awe in our travel.
Paradoxically then, purposeful travel bankrupts itself by keeping you fixated on the next thing; the next sight, the next city, the next thing to tick off. And in all that hurrying around you miss everything.
Pointless travel, or slow travel, in having no explicit purpose, overlooks nothing. And thus immerses you fully in where you are.
Slow travel
When travel becomes less about ticking things off and more about experiencing fewer things more deeply, that's when we prime ourselves for awe.
This means going deep rather than broad - spending more time in fewer places. Looking closely instead of whizzing by on your way to somewhere else. Not only is this more meaningful, it's much more relaxing!
After all, the last thing you want to spend your precious travel time doing is, well, travelling.
You actually get time to take a breath, settle and unwind instead of racing from one place to the next. You might even return without needing to say "I need a holiday to recover from my holiday!"
So what?
So far, so philosophical. What do I do with this information?
Practically, there are useful ways to slow things down and give you the time and space to really savour a place:
- On your next trip, commit to seeing fewer places; instead spending longer getting under the skin of where you stay
- Opt for an expansive itinerary that provides unscheduled, free time. These are the moments when you let your curiosity take you!
- Engage with local culture & people; ask questions!
- Spend time in nature - the wilder the better!
It turns out the route to more purposeful travel is to make it a bit more pointless.
