Comments on: Lost And Found: When Travel Is Not The Answer

By: Madhu

Madhu — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 00:11:39 +0000

Very well expressed. I have woken up many times like this and sometimes the travel became an effort. You cannot escape that is the bottom line. On the road or at home you just have to face it head on. But seems simpler on the road.

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By: Hannah

Hannah — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 11:35:44 +0000

@ Erik P -

What a well thought out response and how true. After 11 years of traveling I’m now realizing that the very things I’ve been running from all along are the things I most need to turn and face right now in order to *really* move forward.

My mother made me laugh out loud the other day by telling me it would happen like Forest Gump: One day I’ll just turn around and start running back home.

I think that’s the case

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By: Erik P

Erik P — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 16:30:13 +0000

@ Helen and others…

It’s true that there are in depth experiences to be had all around us at any given time wherever you are, but it’s easy to romanticize travel as an escape and as a means to “live it up”. It is only once you’ve travelled that you can realize that it isn’t an escape at all, and that in trying to go somewhere else you’ve really only come full circle with your issues still in tow. In this way, travel is a necessary element of personal growth; you will stop trying to run from your self, or at least fantasize about outpacing your problems once you realize it’s impossible to do this. Then you can only turn and face them or disillusion yourself with continued denial. Either way, you must have the experience of travel to understand it all.

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By: Akila

Akila — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 08:27:05 +0000

Really beautiful post. I ran across this because I am writing a post on a related topic on my blog and was delighted to see such an honest post out there.

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By: Hannah

Hannah — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 12:26:22 +0000

Thank you SO much for this, and for your writing in general. I just stumbled upon another one of your more recent articles, which linked me here, and I find your small battles and great discoveries to be very similar to my own, and much more eloquently written about

I had the exact same experience, discovering that running away from a place is very different than running to a place. I’m currently looking for my next place to run to. Cheers.

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By: Beth

Beth — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 16:42:32 +0000

I like to think of travel as a break, not an escape. I allocate myself sometime to reevaluate where I am, when it’s not really possible in the midst of all of the comfort and technology that is either the small apartment in my college town or my room at my parents’ house. I feel tied down to things too often and traveling helps me appreciate experiences in ways I can’t at home.

Of course, I am not the worrying type. I always have money troubles, but that just means I eat cheaper (but still make sure to include enough fresh produce) and pull do some odd errands for people and families in my community who provide me not only with decent pay, but often a meal!

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By: Carlo

Carlo — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 22:52:55 +0000

Well said Darrin.

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By: Darrin

Darrin — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 22:36:39 +0000

I agree that travel is a state of mind and will not melt away our problems. But new experiences of travel (and new experiences in general) do have a way of shaking around our minds so that we may view things differently. This fresh outlook extends to viewing ourselves. The act of travel can be a facilitator, not a changer. Travel won’t change you; but you may find that you have changed yourself through travel.

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By: Reannon

Reannon — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 20:44:38 +0000

Wow. This was so well written…I like that line about declaring your anxieties at customs. I wish we could all do that when we travel, just put our worries and problems in a box and hand it over to the customs agents and then pick them up again on our return home.

I think everyone has their own way of escaping their problems and coping with stress. Some people over-eat, others over-drink or watch too much TV or spend too much time online (guilty!). Perhaps for some people (travel addicts in particular), travel is just another method of dealing with stress.

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By: Brittany

Brittany — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 14:14:56 +0000

Wonderful article that really resonates with me and many others. I am currently living in Thailand and engaged in a never-ending debate about whether to stay longer (1 year of Southeast Asia and India so far) or go home. I battled depression and anxiety for years and desperately searched for an escape from what I deemed an uninspired and suffocating life. In analyzing my motivations, I determined that my belief that things would be better abroad was false. However, I still clung to the hope that I would be happier in Asia. From the moment I stepped off the plane, I was overwhelmed with a sense of disappointment and restlessness. Throughout my travels, I have had ups and downs, and at times have truly let go and enjoyed the magic of my surroundings. Yet I find myself settling here and, surprise surprise, in exactly the same situation I was in before- both in terms of relationships and the inner experience. Now I find myself thinking “if only I could just go home”.

Sounds silly, but it is an easy cycle to get stuck in no matter how much insight you have into your self-styled patterns.

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