When I sat down and thought about what I wanted and still saw “30 countries by 30” on the list, I realized that I didn’t really get that much out of traveling. It conflicted with a lot of other more important goals on my list — saving, building a business, etc. — and didn’t, even in its own right, provide much value. It shouldn’t be a top goal. Because travel is, in and of itself, a bit meaningless.
Travel is not an accomplishment. It’s embarrassing when so many woman about travel like there’s some kind of “I got on a plane” accolade. Participation awards for “I went there too.” “I been LOTS of places.” It’s not even that hard. The highest barrier is probably cost, and the most effort that really involves is like, saving. There’s no application process. There’s no “failure” rate. It doesn’t even really take any meaningful work. Compared to so many other things in life, “travel” is a damn cakewalk. You decide you want to go somewhere. You pick a place. Maybe do a lil research; consult a guidebook (optional.) Then ya book it. And then you go.
But then we should move on to real things. Probably this very low barrier to entry and very low bar for effort is precisely why so many people glorify it — it’s just enough of a break in routine to feel like something, but not enough to be too strenuous. Enough to feel like we did something, without ever actually doing something. But that doesn’t actually make it an accomplishment.
Travel is little more than a running tally— Countries are not ours to “collect”. Having that literal stamp collection — all tidily organized in a neato little book to tote around — makes us feel good. And safe. All warm and tingly inside.
But because travel isn’t an accomplishment, those messy stamps and mental checklists are nothing better than boxed memorabilia. It may make us feel nice and cozy, but it’s totally meaningless in the grand scheme of things. When we tally up travel, we’re pretty much as “cool” as Steve Carell’s character in 40 Year Old Virgin. Or that weird great aunt with her Precious Moments figurines. Travel does not automatically expand you as a human being
Unless what you needed help “expanding” with was getting the fuck out of your own car, or neighborhood, or routine. Travel is just expensive escapism. Almost as expensive as functional alcoholism. People who love their lives don’t leave. If you were deeply engaged in your life, had meaning and excitement and value in your everyday, Would you want to leave all that behind for two weeks? What would be the point?If you are excited about your life, you do your life. If you are not excited about your life, you travel to get away from it.
The things you are aiming to accomplish while you travel are generally things you could accomplish on a deeper level if you stayed home and made changes to your life instead of running away. Travel is just consumerism Other countries and cultures are not ours to consume. The world is not our personal petting zoo. Often people travel because they just need a way to spend their money.They work these jobs they don’t like to afford themselves things they might want, but they don’t necessarily spend a lot of time thinking about what that might be. They travel because they hear other people travel and they don’t have any other, better ideas, so they do too.
No comments:
Post a Comment