scheherazade through the looking glass: 11 tips for passionate travelers
by Parisa Aryán
Dear Passionate Traveler,
When embarking on your next journey, there are a few things worth remembering in order to ensure the expansion of your mind, the enrichment of your soul and the safety of your heart. Here are a few tips to help you:
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When deciding on your next journey, trust your own instincts. People will always have their opinions, ideas, desires and fears about what you are going to do, but at the end of the day, only your own opinions, ideas, desires and fears matter.
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Your passion is a part of what you are, so don’t let anyone warn you against it. In the worst case scenario, it will at least provide color and excitement to your journey. In the best case scenario, it will take you places you never even thought you could get to.
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Be careful with your expectations. I recommend that, if possible, you try not to have any expectations at all. As with everything in life, having great expectations will bias your point of view and will not allow you to appreciate things the way they really are.
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A positive attitude towards the journey is essential. It is virtually impossible to have a journey with no bumps in the road and no problems along the way. When there is nothing you can do about these, just buckle up, sit back, relax and wait. When there is something you can do, do it quickly, forget about the incident immediately and go back to enjoying your journey.
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Remember that, even if you have travel companions, it is worthwhile to spend some time on your own. This allows you to take in what you are experiencing completely, with no distractions. It allows you to think, to evaluate, to appreciate. Never underestimate the power of solitude.
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Traveling on your own? Congratulations! A journey is completely different (in the very best of ways) when you are on your own. Take your time. Nobody is waiting for you, nobody is rushing you to move on to the next place, nobody is talking to you about what they are seeing or thinking, or about what you left behind at home, or about what you will find when you get back. You are free to walk around for as long as you want, or to sit down at a café and rest while you watch people go by. Take advantage of this; take in the vibration of the place, the colors, the sounds, the smells. Allow yourself time to think about it, to write about it, or to just close your eyes and feel it.
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Remember that one of the very best things about traveling on your own is finding people along the way. Sometimes, when we have travel companions, we forget to make room in our journey for other, new companions. This doesn’t happen when you are alone. Open yourself up to the amazing fellow travelers and locals that you will meet throughout your journey. You all have so much to tell, so much to learn from each other and so much to experience together. Don’t let the opportunity go by.
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If you finish a journey exactly as you started it, you’ve done something wrong. There are always things to be gained and things to be lost — that is the whole point of traveling.
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So, once you finish the journey, make sure that you don’t lose the things you have gained. Keep them wherever they are safest — in a notebook, in a box under your bed or in a little corner of your mind — but make sure you keep them. On the other hand, make sure you mourn the things you have lost. You cannot say goodbye to them and let go until you have allowed your heart to grieve for them for as long as it needs to.
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Be proud of your journey. Know that you are a more complete person for having done it. Be happy about who you have become after it. Because regardless of how it started and how it ended, what you left behind and what you are coming home to, what you gained and what you lost, or even what you missed out on — regardless of absolutely everything else — this was your journey. Enjoy that gift; enjoy your success.
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Finally, remember to embark on your next journey with the same degree of passion as you did on this one. Never let your fear take over your passion. Because, dear passionate traveler, even a mistake, even the very worst choice of journey, will always beat the hell out of never leaving the safety zone.
Happy travels!
declared in scheherazade through the looking glass
October 7th, 2008 at 4:47 pm
muuuuu bueno!
me alegro que estés asi Pari.
ay si, los viajes, y sobretodo los viajes por Asia, asia, asia… I yearn to go back!!!
te mando un beso desde Canarias, que estoy haciendo un papelín , dos secuencias, en una peli.. llegué ayer y de momento hoy me han dado el dia libre, so I am also travelling, in time (i lived here for a couple years ..) and space.
te mando un beso y a ver si nos vemos pronto!! marta
October 13th, 2008 at 4:24 pm
This couldn’t come at a better moment, I just got back from the greatest journey yet.
To all that you’ve said I would also add that it’s probably best not to plan everything out ahead of time, or at least be flexible with what you do. It is easier to do when traveling alone and can be so rewarding to take that “road less traveled”.
November 6th, 2008 at 8:15 am
Excellent excellent travel guide. Wish I had read this years ago when I was just beginning to get out into the world!
November 10th, 2008 at 11:24 am
Three years ago I travelled alone to Berlin and stayed three weeks. I found a wonderful city and a lot of new people to share the experience with. But the most amazing discovery I made was myself. The liked the woman I discovered. The best trip of my life. I am still insecure because that’s the way I am, but those days showed me that I can do everything if I really want to do it.
November 11th, 2008 at 8:34 pm
Parisa,
do you know that you almost copied exactly my way to run my life?
Almost everything you advice is essentially how I try to act and react in my life. And I swear it works.
I was especially pleased about the part: “It is virtually impossible to have a journey with no bumps in the road and no problems along the way. When there is nothing you can do about these, just buckle up, sit back, relax and wait. When there is something you can do, do it quickly, forget about the incident immediately and go back to enjoying your journey.”
Just replace “journey” with “life” and you will have a happy and relaxed life.
Congratulations for your attitude.