Social Distancing = Long Term, Slow Travel

“I wish I could just go travel forever…”

This phrase comes up a lot. I bet you’ve even said it.

Given the opportunity, many wish they could pack their bags and set off for indefinite globetrotting to faraway destinations, breathtaking Instagram opportunities and a world free from the strings of current life. 

But what most people don’t realize is this perspective of travel fades away not long after embarking on the journey. 

The vision of a carefree travel life fades and you quickly realize that most of what you thought you’d escape is actually packed in your bag, joining you on the road, preparing to pop out sooner than you’d expect. 

“Wherever you go, there you are” is true, and hopping on a plane across the world, the statement stands.

Soon enough, the dream vision of freedom, non-commitment, personal autonomy, carefree-ness, fades. 

And what remains is yourself. 

Your thoughts. Your feelings. Your fears. Your personality. Your emotions. Your weaknesses. Your memories. Your past. Your future.

The distractions of everyday life, hustling from job to gym to happy hour to Netflix, are gone. 

They’re replaced, for a short time, with views and geotags, bar crawls with new best friends, foreign meals for a fraction of the price and magical backroads through ancient cities.

But soon these novelties also wear off and you find yourself alone, solo. 

Everything you were running away from, the ideas and emotions and realities of the human experience, return.

When there are no more distractions and you can’t run yourself from yourself, yourself remains.

Kind of like social distancing...

Weeks into no job, no work, no happy hours, no events, no touch, no gigs, no office, no meetings, too much Netflix, too much scrolling, too many zoom hang outs, too many Facetimes…

What remains is yourself.

Your thoughts. Your feelings. Your fears. Your personality. Your emotions. Your weaknesses. Your memories.  Your past. Your future. 

Congrats, you’re on the trip. 

It doesn’t look quite like a hotel in Paris, an Airbnb in Bali or a beach in Costa Rica. 

But it does look like reflection, introspection, looking back and looking forward…