Can you "Find Yourself" Traveling?

You've probably read the Elizabeth Gilbert book or seen the famous Julia Roberts movie "Eat, Pray, Love". Maybe you have toyed with the idea of traveling to exotic destinations with the hope that as you explore new horizons, you would also get to explore hidden parts of self. Maybe you've read books about burnt out businessmen and career women who worked with a guru on a mountain in India and, subsequently, changed their perspective on life as they found more joy and fulfilment in simplicity. Maybe you too have dreamed of setting on a journey with the the intent of finding yourself.

And, maybe, like me, you've been previously told by a spiritual mentor that leaving your problems behind and going to faraway places will not help you suddenly solve all your problems and miraculously find yourself in some random exotic place you have no connection to.

It’s a fair point. You have indeed not been hiding in the streets of Rio since the beginning of times, waiting for your spontaneous and seemingly random decision to visit that particular country to make that fortunate discovery. No. You’re always right here, inside.

And yet, I beg to differ with the above opinion. Since you are always right here, inside, right now, you can always find yourself right here, right now, wherever you may be geographically speaking.

Have you ever quit a boring job, dropped out of a program you didn’t like, left a toxic relationship or took a break from whatever else difficult environment you may have been in and traveled to a place where people were less rigid, less conditioned, less willing to participate in the grind? A place where people seemed more open, more joyful than what you had been experiencing in your day-to-day up until then?

Have you ever had the realization that when you leave everything and everyone you know behind for a moment, you can try on new identities and characteristics and show up as whoever you want to in each moment and then again and again and see what feels good and who you could be if your friends, family or collegues didn’t constantly remind you who you used to be in the past and what problematic patterns of behavior you used to repeat?

Have you ever tossed away all the things you didn’t need like office clothes, shoes, makeup, hair combs, underwear, your alarm clock, your to-do list, your calendar, other people’s judgments and advice, your worries about the future, your idea of who you need to be in the world to be ok, your habits, your daily routine that makes you exhausted, your aspirations, which are actually your parents’ unfulfilled dreams, your teachers’ hopes or society’s recipe for “happily ever after”?

Have you ever opened up your heart and shared all your crazy dreams, unbelievable stories, absurd thoughts, exaggerated reactions, deep emotions and irrational fears with a complete strangers and felt seen, heard, accepted, authentically expressed, and loved?

Have you ever danced your heart out with loving strangers by the fire on a beach on a remote tropical island?

Have you ever felt truly free?

No, travel is not a magic pill that will cure you and wipe away all your problems. Like many other things, it can be a beautiful tool. A tool to open our hearts, to take a break from our habitual thinking and operating, a break from our patterned loops of struggling. It can be a window of opportunity to try something new, to experience and feel something, to become someone new. It gives us a very easy leeway, because we can pretend it's "not real" because it's just vacation and not "real life".

What is "real life"? What is "real"? It depends solely on your definition, so really ask yourself here.

If you equate "struggle" with "real life", then it's safe to assume that experiencing some extraordinary fun on your travels will feel like "too good to be real"!

Here's the thing: You could go right now and do any of the things above today, anywhere in the world, including your hometown and have a terrific time and a life-changing experience. You should!

But if you don't feel like you can or want to do it in your city --

Then I think traveling can help. It helps you slow down and keeps you on your toes, paying attention to the novel sights and smells, to the changing scenery around, to the exotic beauty on display every around you. It can get you out of your head and in your body, in your heart.

Traveling can be really fun and very healing.

If you do it well.

After all, you’re the director of every and any experience in your life.

So go out and orchestrate some good stuff! 💃

And if you're dying to go on a journey right now but don't know how to do it or where to go, then get in touch with me to inquire about my VIP travel experiences. ❤️

Have you ever felt truly free?