We travel more than ever but rarely pause to ask ourselves why we’re going – or what we should be trying to change about …
### The Benefits of Travel
Travel helps us become better individuals. It’s a form of therapy. This isn’t meant to be mystical; rather, each of us has an “inner journey” that we pursue in one way or another, aiming to develop ourselves in certain ways.
In short, the benefit of travel is visiting places that help us grow internally. Our external journey should aid in reaching our internal journey.
Every place in the world has qualities that can support a kind of beneficial internal change. Take, for example, the ancient stones in the Utah desert, which are 200 million years old.
It’s a place, but on a psychological level, it resembles an internal destination—a scene free from trivial worries and distractions, filled with tranquility and resilience.
Historically, religions took travel more seriously than we do now. For them, travel was a therapeutic activity.
In the Middle Ages, when someone was in a state of unrest, they were supposed to go on a pilgrimage to connect with relics of saints or members of the Holy Family.
For example, if you had a toothache, you would go to Rome, to the Church of San Lorenzo, to touch the arm bones of Saint Apollonia, the patron saint of teeth.
If your marriage was unhappy, you might go to Umbria to touch the shrine of Saint Rita, the patron saint of marital problems.
Or if you were afraid of lightning, you might be sent to Bad Münster am Stein-Ebernburg in Germany to touch the skull of Saint Donatus, believed to offer protection against fires and explosions.
We no longer believe in the divine power of journeys, but certain parts of the world still have the capacity to change and heal the wounded parts of us.
Ideally, travel agencies would employ a new kind of therapist who would provide care not only for flights and hotels but also for understanding our issues and how one can change.
Anxious people might be sent to ancient places with crashing waves on the cliffs of Ireland’s west coast. Those obsessed with fame could be sent to contemplate the ruins of Detroit. Someone overly connected to their body might be recommended a trip to Porto Seguro in Bahia, Brazil.
Today, we often choose travel destinations without fully understanding our problems or knowing how to select our destinations.
We need to become more conscious travelers, meticulously searching for places with specific qualities, like serene and highly sensitive scenes.
We should follow the old-fashioned pilgrimage model, aiming to develop our characters based on suggested places to visit.
We need to relearn how to be enthusiastic about travel and view it as a means to help us excel beyond our limitations.
