What is the Importance of Traveling? An Explorer’s View

The ability to move around from one place to the other is the biggest virtue one can ever have. All humans and animals have been blessed with this ability, but humans are always a step forward. We humans, possess an extraordinary virtue of seeing, experiencing and learning from it, and this is precisely what makes our journeys more satisfying and enriching.

Humans have been traveling from time immemorial for a variety of reasons. In an age when there was no infrastructure and no means of transport, even for long-distance journeys, people used to travel on foot or on animal backs. Sometimes, these journeys were extremely long and tiring and it took a person, weeks or even months together to reach the destination. A person who went on a long-distance journey returned home after years. Till then, his family had either no or very little knowledge regarding his whereabouts and well-being. In some extreme cases, a person would never return. In spite of all these barriers and difficulties, people traveled; not always because they needed to, but many times, also because they loved to. And why not? Traveling not only takes us to distant lands and acquaints us with different people, but it also tends to break the monotony of our lives.

It is indeed very unfortunate that some people feel traveling is a sheer waste of time, energy and money. Some also find traveling an extremely boring activity. Nevertheless, a good majority of people across the world prefer traveling, rather than staying inside the confined spaces of their homes. They love to explore new places, meet new people, and see things that they would not find in their homelands. It is this very popular attitude that has made tourism, one of the most profitable, commercial sectors in the world.

People travel for various reasons. Some travel for work, others for fun, and some for finding mental peace. Though every person may have his/her own reason to go on a journey, it is essential to note that traveling, in itself, has some inherent advantages. For one, for some days getting away from everyday routine is a pleasant change. It not only refreshes one’s body, but also mind and soul. Traveling to a distant place and doing exciting things that are not thought of otherwise, can rejuvenate a person, who then returns home, ready to take on new and more difficult challenges in life and work. It makes a person forget his worries, problems, frustrations, and fears, albeit for some time. It gives him a chance to think wisely and constructively. Traveling also helps to heal; it can mend a broken heart.

For many people, traveling is a way to attain knowledge, and perhaps, a quest to find answers to their questions. For this, many people prefer to go to faraway and isolated places. For believers, it is a search for God and to gain higher knowledge; for others, it is a search for inner peace. They might or might not find what they are looking for, but such an experience certainly enriches their lives.

With people, their culture, thoughts and ideas also travel. When they go from one place to the other, they are bound to meet people and share their thoughts and experiences with them. This is where exchange of ideas takes place, and it definitely broadens a person’s outlook. It makes him/her think in a different way, from a different perspective. When we speak of cultural influences and exchange, food is one of the important factors. The food habits of people say a lot of things about them. It is very interesting to discover new and unknown ways and values; they really add spice to life.

Traveling also creates lifelong memories. Whether a person travels solo or with family and friends, the experience definitely gives him/her nice and exciting stories, which he/she can share with people back home. A good long holiday with loved ones enables him/her to spend some quality time with them, which in turn, helps to renew and restore relationships and creates very strong one-to-one and family bonds. In fact, traveling away from home and spending time with near and dear one(s) can give the relationship an entirely new perspective and possibly, people may start understanding each other in a better way.

Above all, traveling and getting away from our homes enables us to spend some time with our own selves. It makes us more sensitive and more tolerant towards others. It makes it easier for us to meet and mingle with different kinds of people, and also teaches us to live life to the fullest.

Thousands of people across the world travel every year from one country to the other in order to get proper and apt medical treatment. Some of them travel from richer countries to poorer ones in quest of cheaper medication; some others travel from poorer countries to more developed ones to get the right medication. Medical tourism is today, one of the most important parts of the travel and tourism sector and more than 50 countries have identified it as a national industry.

Personal health is what makes travel extremely important. People here, travel because they don’t have a choice in most cases. One might wonder that if a person gets medical aid only after he reaches his/her destination, what importance does traveling hold in this case? Well, traveling instills hope in a person. As a person travels and gets more and more closer to the destination, the hope of getting cured and living a healthy and smooth life ahead goes on increasing. Thus, traveling makes a person more optimistic towards life.

Traveling can therefore be an extremely enchanting and enriching experience that may help improve the quality of your life. So, let the travel bug bite you so that you experience the thrill and the calmness of life at the same time, and emerge a different person altogether.