As with everything else important in our life, travelling is another way of not only expansion, but most of all self-awareness, acceptance, healing and discovery of our inner potential and imposed limitations.
We are all on our own journeys. Most of us are travelling only in our heads though.
According to the latest World Tourism Barometer from UN Tourism, an estimated 1.4 billion tourists travelled internationally in 2024, indicating a virtual recovery (99%) of pre-pandemic levels. But there are 8.2 billion human beings on the planet currently. A simple math exercise would indicate that 73% of the world population stays at home (and let’s remember still many don’t a home either).
The numbers might be estimated, but the reality is not far from me saying: YOU ARE THE LUCKY ONES in this statistics. Be it you are moving around with you family, job or just having enough money to see the world, an incredible large part of the world’s population will not see the world beyond their hometown or home country, not even once in their lives. Due to live options, fears, customs and traditions, but most of all, due to lack of financial means and time.
Apply this 17% on your own family, let’s say of 7 people (4 grandparents, 2 parents and yourself). Yes, you might or might not be the only one who will travel in your entire family.
Very few (almost none) of my family members have traveled to date. My parents have never left the country. In my close family, I am definitely the lucky one who gets to see faraway continents and islands and people and customs. Who gets to open her heart more to the differences between people and cultures, while returning to the gratefulness of being part of a (still) free land. I started travelling in 2008 (those were the days of the city breaks and short-carriers’ deals) and I never stopped. My natal chart is definitely showing I was (and still am) a traveler across worlds and oceans, and I embrace this as my most wonderful expression of the love I have for this incarnation.
Traveling is an expansion technique for the soul, the mind, the body. But it is rarely accessible to the ordinary man and woman. It is the commodity of the rich, privileged, open-minded, but most of all, the lucky.
Having these simple numbers in mind, I can’t un-see the fact that we, the 17% are so lucky. So…as with any other thing we are granted access to, it also comes with great responsibility, whether we like it or not.
And this leads me to greater depths of today’s healing message: How many of us 17% really apreciate it and how many are we taking traveling for granted?
Recently, I noticed several Romanian public figures (I can’t fathom to see them as “influencers”) who wrote on their social media accounts negative reviews on faraway places they visited. Be it Bali or The Maldives, the recollections of their experiences were in my view superficial, limited and not to mention somehow distructive for the culture. Let me explain why.
While their views and usage of social media is (still) a free speech right and I am in agreement with that, the negative ripple effect of their understanding of travelling to those places could impact: 1.the wellbeing and income of these places who mostly base their existence on tourism and 2.the traveller who wants to experience the world and now
So, it really comes down to these people publishing reviews that prevent other people from experiencing the world with all its differences and inequalities, but also diminishing the positive effect of distribution of money from the wealthier to the poorer. Yes, tourism and travelling is also in my views a means through which we can exert our right to support the cultures and places who are maybe kept more under poverty by the current geopolitical and economic systems.
As an experienced traveler but also critical thinker, let me give you my view on how I approach travelling in a way that I believe is more nurturing to the entire players in the field.
1.First of all, travelling must really be a conscious and intentional decision. And it requires a healthy and rested body and mind.
If you want to rest and unwind during you 2 week something holiday, travelling might not be a correct option. Studies have shown (and I believe common sense says the same) that going on a trip activates the human system more than it relaxes it. You go to a place you don’t know, eat food your body/microbiome is not accustomed to and live off a different timezone. By the time your body settles into the new, you need to go back home. So, rest and recuperation happens at home, where you can control the parameters. Discovery of new places needs another mental approach.
When you travel, all your senses are excited. You see new things, you smell new aromas, you hear new words. And so on. Expansion really needs full commitment and awareness. Once you understand this, it gets easier when travelling might become more difficult (accidents, delays, bad food, etc).
2.Let’s say you’ve settled this. You want to explore and expand. You choose your destination based on the budget, time and personal context.
If you have a week, opt for a nearby location that gives you a similar timezone. If you have more, then look for further options.
For me, Europe in the past years has not been an option. Plane ticket prices have soared as well as accommodations, not necessarily having a rational explanation. Too much for my taste and the offering. But Europe is still a viable option if you only have a couple of days to move your suitcase around.
As for me, I tend to give myself the option to leave for at least 2 or even 3 weeks. Constant travelling to far places has been my jam for the past 3-4 years. Asia mostly I feel is a heart home and Indonesia is definitely its center. I have been able to see less fortunate (but infinitely more beautiful and spiritual) places and contribute to their welfare.
3.You now have the destination. Start learning about it more. See travelling blogs, read tripadvisor reviews. Read about the culture, its economic and political context. This way, you will be less surprised by local realities and yes, if anything undesirable happens on the spot, you will not make a fool out of yourself or the destination on social media.
I’ve seen reviews from people who didn’t bother to understand that sharks are found in the Maldives or that Bali has areas of garbage. As far as I am concerned, these are tourists not travellers. Uninformed but full of expectations.
If you are not doing your research at home, there is another good way to understand the local context: talk with the locals, doh! Hire a local guide, engage with any local vendor, service provider, artists, community member. For example, this is how one could understand that Indonezia has a problem of garbage collection and recycling, and this hugely impacts not only the tourism but also the local communities. That NGOs all over the islands are doing their best with the few resources they get from govern of Jakarta. That the local population still lacks ecological education and that also a lot of the litter comes from tourists that misbehave.
4.But this is really a question of critical thinking. An un-researched and malice review can actually lower the income of poorer community members who actually rely on tourism to survive.
So I begin to wonder: where do we all get our references when it comes to travelling? Who do we look up to, who do we read or watch? There are a lot of bloggers, vlogers, youtubers and yes, “influencers” who seem to throw their own limited views online just because they can. And it’s ok as long as this is the system we are all living in. But how about being more self-critical about that? How about giving the chance of real storytellers to enchant us and give us the perspective of expansion and understanding?
We used to read travelling books written by talented storytellers. Why do we now look at random people exposing in a post only the negativity that they have experienced at their own ignorance?
I do believe that places are energies. The way a destination looks, smells, vibrates is just an external manifestation of a vibration. This is why some of us vibrate with some destinations, others with … others and some with none. Travelling is an exchange of energies between 2 people, 2 places, 2 cultures, 2 realities.
Travelling is the way we let ourself expand and explore. The more stuck we are, the harder it gets to have a positive experience anywhere outside the home.
If you want to travel for real, here are some of my prompts for you. For a conscious, more balanced exploration:
- The outer journey should assist us with the inner one. Why are you travelling? What are you running away from or what is the question you need and answer to?
- Become more aware of your uniqueness in the world, but also the quieting of the ego that says: “my life is more important thank other people’s”. When you travel, you’re invited in the home of another. Respect that!
- If you want to understand a place, then immerse in the local realities. Talk with the people, be curious, ask as many questions as possible. Understand their reality and why they need you and your resources. You might just think again before posting the way you view the world from the top of your ego.
- Get information beforehand from reliable resources. Read the books, talk with positive people, experienced travellers and avoid the ones who usually say: hmm, I didn’t like that of this there. They could actually prevent you from having the best time of your life because they will impose their own realities over you. No place is perfect, but all places are equally worthy.
- If you can, hire local guides or talk with a tourism agency that operates locally. You need people on those grounds who know the realities.
- If you have any problems with flexibility or disconfort, know that any destination might increase them. Different food, noises, atmosphere, heat and so on. Prepare mentally to bend your mind and break your inflexibility. Remember that people just like you thrive there. So it’s a matter of adaptability, that’s all.
- Check the details of your tickets, accommodations before. Read the reviews, ask the questions, ask for the services, make a list of all urgent numbers you should call in case of anything. Travelling is like a project and should not be treated lightly of with carelessness.
- Upon return, be kind and write that thank you note to the travelling agency or agent, a message to your guide or hotels. Be grateful for they have kept you safe, in comfort and entertained. This is more than a money-services exchange. This is energy and bonding with a place that you were lucky enough to see. This is how you support maybe a not so fortunate economy and community to get their own needs met.
- Travelling releases karma and builds more dharma. So choose those places that you can actually use for your own uplifting and becoming.