Vawn's Blog

What a Type A gal can learn from travel

VAWN HIMMELSBACH, Chic Savvy Travels

I’m a Type A personality. I like making lists. But when I get to the point where my ever-growing to-do list causes me more anxiety than sense of accomplishment, I realize it might be time to get on a plane and go far, far away.

Though I don’t advocate travel as a way to run from your problems, I do believe it can serve as a much-needed wake-up call. When you’re feeling burnt out, run down or stuck in a rut, travel can help put life in perspective.

Your to-do list is simplified when you travel: find a bed to sleep in, find something to eat, find a way to get from Point A to Point B. I remember, when I lived in China, the first time I managed to give a taxi driver instructions — in Mandarin — and successfully made it from Point A to Point B. It felt like an accomplishment of epic proportions.

Travel is a reminder to go with the flow — when something doesn’t turn out the way you expect (which will inevitably happen), you have to think on your feet and … go with the flow. For Type A personalities, this can be an uncomfortable exercise — especially if you force yourself to leave your smartphone behind.

And sure, sometimes you end up lost or frustrated or with a plate of pig’s feet in front of you instead of sweet and sour chicken. But it also makes you appreciate the small things — and isn’t that what life is all about?

After two weeks of hiking in the Himalayas and taking sponge baths with a thermos of hot water and a quick-dry microfiber towel, the first proper hot shower you have will be the best shower of your life.

Every time I return home from a trip, I’m in awe of what I usually take for granted: running water, a toilet that flushes (with toilet paper in it, no less!) and a bed that seems downright luxurious.

Inevitably during my travels I meet people who seem pretty happy, and they have a whole lot less — at least in terms of material possessions — than most people I know back home. When I start getting caught up in our material world (like, those suede knee-high boots I so desperately want), I think back to a group of shabbily dressed kids I saw in a poor, rural village in Nepal, chasing an old bicycle tire with a stick — expressions of pure joy and delight on their faces.

And I’ve met women — well, girls — who are married and have an entire brood of kids, and they’re half my age. They can’t even begin to fathom the freedom I have — as a woman — to travel by myself (and support myself financially), let alone access to post-secondary education and a career.

Perhaps that’s why we feel so off balance when we return home from a trip. Why we try to cling to that “vacation feeling” for so long. Because really, it’s the rat race that’s off balance, and when we manage to escape it, we’re able to see that more clearly.

The challenge is to hold on to that appreciation for the small stuff, the seemingly insignificant stuff, when we get home. If I ever figure out the secret to doing that, I’ll let you know. Until then, I may just have to get on a plane.
Vawn

Date Added: October 28, 2011 | Comments (0)