Sunshine could be the key to living longer. Photo: Shutterstock.
“I love to travel.” It’s a generic claim that comes up at least once in every get-to-know-you conversation. It’s the tagline of every ice breaker. My question is, why doesn’t anyone ever retort, “Yeah, no shit?” Now, before I dive into this, let me admit that I’ve made this claim. It’s easy. It makes you seem wise, cultured, hip. Everyone wants to be a world traveler. But, calling yourself a “world traveler” is a trite, uninspiring misnomer. And before I paint myself as a crotchety grump, let’s discuss.
Everyone loves to travel. And if you don’t, you should. Routine makes us stale. Traveling is a way to break out of a rut and shake up your daily monotony with an injection of island style, mountain cool, or city culture. But, when traveling becomes a replication of your routine in a new place, the “world traveler” tag loses its flavor.
Staying at a Costa Rican resort and paying for the horse riding beach experience doesn’t mean you’ve been to Costa Rica. I love omelettes, but that breakfast buffet, though delicious, won’t teach you about the Pura Vida spirit. A spa weekend in the Caribbean might work out the kink in your neck, but can you say you’ve been to Barbados if you haven’t sampled the flying fish at a Bajan night market or found your way to a local rum punch party?
The purpose of this isn’t to point fingers. This isn’t a diatribe against resorts. Relaxing weekends are a great stress reliever. The point Im getting at is simply to start separating the words “travel” and “explore” (yeah, strap in, this is going to be a battle of semantics). Exploration is what happens when you throw yourself into a trip and a culture. It’s what you do when you get a little lost in a new city, eat something you can’t pronounce, or experience something that makes you change the way you think.
The idea of exploration is daunting. Where do you even start? Well, if you have a lens to do it through, it becomes more approachable. Surfing is my lens; it opens doors to corners of the world I wouldn’t otherwise visit. This part is inherently easy for surfers because exploration is built into our culture. We’re all on the search for the perfect wave – a lonely break only accessible by machete, crystal clear tubes, and a backdrop. My next surf trip isn’t just to score waves and polish off a couple bottles of tequila. It’s my next chance to learn and to grow (but also the tequila).
Your lens can be whatever drives you forward. Do you love photography, bird watching, food and wine? Whatever your passion is can become your impetus for exploration. If the only thing you care about in this world is board games, use it. Wow the crowd at the next monopoly night with stories from your trip to an underground Carrom tournament in Sri Lanka.
The key isn’t to stop traveling.
It’s to find your lens and start exploring.
“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover. Yew!” – Mark Twain-ish
