Adventure: The Travel Blues
Being away form loved ones and all that is familiar can sometimes have its pitfalls and I have labeled this phenomenon the travel blues.
Sometimes traveling and not having a home base can feel alienating and there have been many times when i feel like I just cant do it anymore. Here are a few best practices for avoiding and dealing with the travel blues
Lose the Expectations
Finding that a place you have booked is not exactly as it looked in the pictures, bugs, noise and location can all be a bummer. Keeping your sense fo adventure and being open to the treasures that may await you, regardless of the circumstances can be paramount when on a long journey abroad.
Have a Regular Spiritual Practice
Practicing yoga philosophy and Yogic breathing keeps me centered and in my best nervous system. If you are constantly anxious, hyper vigilant or waiting for the other shoe to drop is exhausting and will not make for a sustainable joyful travel experience. The reason we practice meditation, yoga asana and other techniques is so that when life hands us a precarious situation we can remain calm and choose our actions with calm and good discenrment. Travel is a perfect practice to apply our spiritual work.
Practice Self Care
Cultures around the world seem to get this one better than Americans. Take care of your body, bathe in a hot spring, go to a spa, eat healthy smaller meals throughout the day and don't forget to rest when you need to. Travel is not something to be achieved but relished and experienced with joy.
Engage in Local/Cultural Activities
The real gems of travel come in the cultural exchange between people, newfound education and the magic that exists in the world only if you are open to it. There is knowledge in the past, history and incredibly diverse array of cuisines, places and faces across the globe. Deep dive into the local lore and all that a new place has to offer so that you walk away with a new view, more diverse perspective and more developed you than when you arrived.
Stay in Touch
Its easy to be immersed in all you new experiences and forget the family, friends and people that have been a part of your life for so long. Make time every week to whatsapp, text or facetime with the people in your life so that they know you are still thinking about them and want them in your life.
Communication is Key
In our case, although we had already spent alot of time and enjoy being together in the first place, spending twenty four hours a day for two years with your partner with no breaks is a challenge for anyone. Its been important to take a little time alone from time to time to not lose touch with ourselves as well as have a little personal privacy. Checking in and really being aware of each others feelings and needs has been paramount to keeping things sustainable and growing while on the road. Taking turns choosing where to eat or what we want to do keeps things interesting and fresh.
Make Friends with Uncertainty
We left with only two countries on our itinerary and have winged it ever since. This has been challenging at times but also given us a broad new sense of adventure and experiences. Technology has opened up so many new possibilities for travel that one has to keep in mind that this is a NEW world to be navigated with care, understanding and the ability to shift at a moments notice. This puts us in all kinds of positions to evolve, adapt and be brave to the new and different.
Have a Clear and Ultra Specific Vision
If you don't have a clear vision of what you want or are tying to achieve, the how becomes more difficult to find. Having a clear goal or vision can be paramount to keeping your adventures moving in the right direction. This takes some self observation, knowledge and personal understanding that helps be better travelers, partners and people.