Happy Travels.
HAPPY TRAVELS.
A thought piece about traveling and happiness & A video about moments of inner peace.
In a world so busy
we often forget
what makes us happy.
Truly happy.
When in reality
it's always there.
An example. A clarification. A statement.
Deep down we know what we need. We know what makes us happy. Even if we don’t know exactly what we want, we know how we want to feel.
Or how we don’t want to feel.
I want to talk a bit about reasons behind traveling and why not every vacation you take will make you happy.
Mainly because traveling is one main focus in my life and also because I keep having this conversation over and over again with people that are close to me.
“Traveling makes me happy, that’s why I do it. And if you don’t like it, that’s okay too.”
In the global travel industry there are trends like in any other industry.
We are conditioned to believe that only if we follow the newest trends, we belong.
With social media it is very easy and fast for a trend to spread and there is no exception when it comes to the Travel Lifestyle.
We all know, there are many different ways to travel, different types of travellers, different times and reasons to travel.
Through the internet and especially Social Media we get a wide range of tiny glimpses into the world of travellers (and tourists). We sit in awe while scrolling through our feeds thinking these perfect photos of those perfect beaches are what counts as being truly free.
A must-go, must-see, must-have-done.
We start to rank people’s travel experiences by how “cool” their trip looks on-screen.
We are so focused on impressing others and getting the most Instagram-worthy photo, rather than enjoying ourselves or the places and people surrounding us.
“Don’t focus so much on what you think others would like you to do.”
Why is it that we can say, “Nice that this colour is in now, but I look like shit wearing it.” -
but we can’t say, “Nice that hiking rainbow mountain is highly celebrated on Instagram right now, but the only way I walk for hours is, if there’s an open bar at the top.”
Let's face it. Not everyone wants to go for a hike at 2 in the morning in order to get the best shot of the sunrise.
If you like it, that's great and I salute you.
(I honestly do, I still tell everyone I hate to do the sunrise hike to Adams Peak in Sri Lanka. Needless to say – I died that day.)
If you don't, why do it? For likes? For followers? To impress people?
If you don’t enjoy it, what good does it do that others are impressed?
Sometimes all you want is to relax in your free time. You don't need to fly around the world if you'd rather stay at the hotel down your street and get pampered.
If you can’t think of reasons, I made a short list.
Feel free to add reasons:
People travel…
… for the sake of being away
… to explore new cultures
… to learn new things
… to enjoy quiet times
… to re-connect with friends
… to hide from the taxman
… to do something they can’t do in their hometown (e.g. swim with dolphins)
… to get married
… to learn a new language
… to finally be alone
… to tell their story.
/RANT OVER
Thanks for listening and enjoy the video!
Yours truly,
T.
