Photo: Benoît Derrier
Are we using travel adventures to escape from a society we can’t seem to change?
Take off on a six month hike along the Appalachian Trail. Decide to go into the woods and fast for 30 days. Are we all just at a breaking point?
The man in the video clip below from Slow Down and Fast decided to explore the idea of “living within and living without” by drinking only water and spending a month alone in the wilderness. To some, that may seem extreme, but to others, these are the only types of choices we truly have left:
Many of you have probably seen or read Into the Wild or Grizzly Man, so it’s not as if the desire to disconnect from modern living is a new one (mystics have also followed this process for thousands of years).
But it seems sometimes to me that as we are forcibly being pushed to our body’s limits, what with all the iPads and the Google Buzz’s, our systems are unable to fully grasp the technology, politics, and terrorizing news constantly put upon us.
What was down is now up, what was true beyond any doubt is now false. Sometimes it feels pointless to read the news not only because it’s depressing, but also because whatever is fact today will be fiction tomorrow. And finding the truth in talking heads is damn near impossible.
As Jaime Byrd notes on the Slow Down and Fast blog:
Confusion and turmoil in a modern day world has become so challenging at times, that we do whatever we can to disconnect and alter our consciousness in order to make it bearable.
My question is, are more and more of us checking out (or wanting to) of society because we feel powerless to change it? Traveling with an inner or spiritual purpose dates back to the beginning of civilization, but I do sometimes wonder if my own mental masturbation with just saying “f— it all, I’m outta here” has more to do with frustration at the fast pace and insincerity of our current system more than anything else.
Do you think these types of travel experiences are more about developing the spirit or escaping the craziness of everyday life? Share your thoughts below.
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12 Comments... join the discussion!
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Interesting question.
I think those needing to escape because they are feeling overwhelmed might benefit more with a personal examination of how they negotiate boundaries in their own lives.
Yes there are new technologies and crazy news stories each day, and it can be a lot to process. But I personally enjoy learning about what is going on in the world and what humans have developed.
Ultimately the individual can choose to be inundated or to have a sense of limit. We don’t have to go out to the woods and live on only water for one month to feel internal connection, or flip side, societal disconnect. In fact, it is a bit extremist and I question how it benefits humanity in general.
As @Nakia says, it’s all about balance!
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i feel more powerless when i’m traveling because i see how big the world is, how less i know, how much humans exist and that you cant change anything about the society.
But you can make the best out of it – accept it, see the positiv aspects in it. the power of positiv thinking – and i think traveling helps to find it for yourself.
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Great question! I think travel provides a vehicle to escape from one’s daily routine. It allows a person to reflect on their own life, and the choices they have made along the journey of life. Escapism provides much needed balance in our lives as well. Without balance, we all end up fighting some kind of crazy. Travel, Escapasim, and Adventure are just a few ways to bring balance to your life. Not everyone finds travel, or adventure for that matter a way out of the insincerity of our modern world.
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I feel like the world is so big and traveling is the way to explore it all, not necessarily to get away, but I definitely see how people could use it as an excuse to “get away” from problems and things. It’s more of an adventure
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You ask a great question, Christine. Yes, I most definitely think people run away to escape the insanity of a too-fast and insincere daily life. That is the exact reason we chose to leave NYC. Too much noise, too many people. Not enough actual connection.
I see it as recalibration, a natural reaction and evolution of human development. Where it will ultimately lead? I have no idea.
But I do think all things ultimately seek balance. The desire to leave the city and hide in the woods or to run away from home and find new terrain are part of that.
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I believe the growing trend of personal technology is a symptom of the overall problem: every day, the individual expression of meaning in our lives becomes less and less significant. We break away to find that significance.
The sense of belonging and security we get from being part of fashionable movements comes at the cost of being a passive participant. This leads to the weird condition of being “addicted” to things we dislike. Paraphrasing Paul Sills, if we don’t find ways to confirm our existence, we find it in negative ways like apathy, delinquency, excess…
We say we’re going on trips “to get away from it all”, but that’s not true – it’s just difficult to put into words what’s really bothering us. We leave because we’re looking for an authentic dialogue of a meaningful nature, and it’s very telling when so many of us go looking for the same thing.
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I think that every traveler has his own “motto” to get him going, but certainly, many of us are perhaps in search (even if we don’t know we are) of a better reality, a pure society where you still can find true hearted people and a genuine desire of living a happy life and not just chasing it every day without actually being happy.
What is sad, is that the world is too damn globalized by now, and maybe there are just very few places like that these days.↵ -
Great Article. It’s a very interesting question, and one I identify very strongly with. For me though, I often feel as if our modern society has made survival too easy. For many of us, we are privileged enough to not be challenged in any way on a day-to-day basis. We have routines and although life remains unpredictable, it is easy to become complacent and enjoy the luxuries of modern life. Travel, for me, heightens my sense and challenges me in a way that is exciting, sometimes scary, but always incredibly fulfilling.
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John Muir explicitly talks about how he went into the Sierra’s to escape the squalor of “civilization.” And from my limited knowledge of walkabouts, I think escape/break from the social group is at least part of the reason for them. I don’t think there’s anything new or special or unique about us today in this regard–it’s just part of being eternally human.
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I honestly dont think enough people travel…it is a case of balance! traveling gives you perspective and changes you as a person. The world is out there just waiting to be explored…..it’s certailnly not all about working, big screen tv’s and paying into your pension! We are becoming more and more disconected from each other and the meaning of life, we live in a greedy society, success is measured by cash, that is wrong!
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This article raises a really good point..I think travel is fantastic for opening our eyes, but I have experienced the longing to escape life at home. Something appealing about travelling is that you often have no responsibilities except your own survival and that frees you up to see the world with the fresh eyes of an adventurer. I wonder if it’s possible to live like a traveller at home? It would be great to be able to switch off from the info overload and see the beauty in everyday life – especially if you’re unable to travel.
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