DO YOU NEED TO TRAVEL TO "TURN THE PAGE" AND FULLY ENJOY LIFE?

There is no question that traveling can be an incredibly adventurous, exciting, and eye-opening experience for us all. Discovering new places on your bucket list is highly satisfying and rewarding. Once home, you want to quickly book another trip as quick as possible. With that being said, though, let’s remember to never place traveling to high on our pedestal of life.

From time to time, I see people sharing a quote from Saint Augustine, which goes something like this: 

“THE WORLD IS A BOOK, AND THOSE WHO DO NOT TRAVEL READ ONLY ONE PAGE.”

While I understand the meaning, and while I do agree that traveling is wonderful, I will be honest and say that the above quote slightly annoys me when shared by so many other people on social media or in casual conversation.

If a person is living on a tight budget, with no free time or resources to make travel plans, is his life considered to “incomplete?” Is he “illiterate” in the game of life since he barely ever makes it out of his city? Of course not, but this quote almost gives off a snobby, stuck-up feel to it, as if to say anyone that does not travel does not know what it is like to enjoy life at its fullest, as he always stuck on “page one.”

I am by no means against traveling. I think people that have the available time, resources, and funds should certainly consider the idea of traveling often! Obviously, though, a lot of us are not in that position. Other priorities often get in the way. 

During my lifetime, I have not traveled a lot, but I did manage to make some trips to some of the prettiest and exciting places around, including Vermont, New York City, Puerto Rico, and Spain. Each of these trips was full of random activities and excursions, many of which were outdoors. I had a genuinely great time during each of these trips, but would I say they helped make my life complete? Can I say that these trips made me a more “whole” person because I was able to “turn past page 1?”  My answer to that is “Nope.”

If I suddenly found myself on my deathbed tomorrow, I would relive the most enjoyable moments of my life before I make my ultimate exit. The moments that have brought me the most joy were not my travels. My most enjoyable moments were much simpler and casual moments, including:

-Holding my children in the hospital after they were born.
-Wrestling and goofing around the house with my two sons.
-Hearing my kids tell me stories from the backseat as I drive them to school.
-Fishing at a local lake, with all three of us catching a fish in a five-minute span.
-Opening presents and eating cookies with family members on Christmas morning.
-Playing baseball as a kid, with my father as my coach and my mother as my main cheerleader.
-Sitting on the backyard patio with my family while casually chatting and watching the rain come down.
-Having an hour-long impromptu rave in the garage with my children as we turned out the lights, blared some techno music, and waved our glow-in-the-dark sticks around wildly.

I could add so many other things to this list that don't involve the trips we went on. Point being, even if I had never traveled anywhere, I would have no regrets. Even the busiest of vacationers and travelers are home at least 300 days a year, so let’s be sure that we don’t take our “non-travel time” for granted or we will just be bored and lethargic around our homes until we go away on our next trip. We should try to put ourselves in a position where a far-way trip is like an amazing dessert to an already fulfilling life. Let it be a “life bonus” instead of an escape from the daily grind to regain happiness and sanity.

Many of our most precious and meaningful moments in life do not require a passport or plane ticket. They only require love, time, and attention. It’s not about where you go. It’s about who you are with!