Why do we fly? And why does this matter?
It matters, because if we know what really motivates us to travel, then we can try to “scratch the travel itch” without generating tons of CO2.
So, here are 28 reasons why we love (or need) to travel:
To learn and challenge ourselves:
- To learn new languages: Italian, Arabic or Maori – it’s our choice. With them, we can talk to locals, and learn how to get by in a new place.
- To learn about a place, a people, a culture, a cuisine, or a faith: We can learn what’s different, interesting and unique about people, but also discover the values and needs we share.
- To learn new skills: Kite surf, learn yoga, or play the didgeridoo. We can learn how to do these things by getting away to the right place, and focusing on them without distraction (at the same time that we make like-minded friends.)
- To challenge ourselves: Perhaps we want to stop ourselves getting stale; but perhaps we want to go further and stretch ourselves with adventure, with new sports or with unusual, extraordinary physical challenges.
- To open our minds: There are many ways of thinking and living, and travelling helps us see how other people solve similar problems in different ways, using different thought processes.
- To learn more about ourselves, in a different context: Perhaps we’re only developing part of ourselves in our everyday lives, and we can’t try out new ways of being. Travel can allow us to do this.
To stimulate ourselves and experience this wonderful world:
- To discover new experiences: We may be feeling bored and under-stimulated at home. By flying, we can discover fascinating, rich, colourful new worlds, and enjoy the excitement this brings.
- To experience different cultures: It can be exciting to explore a different culture, a different society, a different history, and a different way of being. This can stretch our minds, and it can make us less sure of our own truths – making us more tolerant of other people’s ways of thinking.
- To experience beautiful places and things: There are some truly breathtaking places in the world – Zion Canyon, Lake Titicaca, St Mark’s Square in Venice, Luxor, the Serengeti, Polonnaruwa, and many more. We can explore these wonderful creations of nature and man for ourselves, by travelling.
- To experience luxury, and being looked after: Maybe adventure isn’t our thing, but being pampered and looked after is. We can jet off to luxurious places and indulge our senses in new ways.
To escape:
- To be ourselves, without consequences: To earn our livings, we need to be sensible and practical, and be respected by the people around us. How nice it is to “kick off our heels”, relax, make mistakes, be silly or foolish, and enjoy life without consequence!
- As an escape from daily pressures and problems: Holidays are great for getting away from chores and the daily grind, for relaxing, and for refreshing ourselves. Who wouldn’t want to do this?
- As an escape from bad experiences or from the monotony of everyday life: Maybe life hasn’t been fun recently. Why wouldn’t we want to get away, and use travel as a way of making a fresh start with new people?
- To mark a transition: If things have been particularly bad, travel can give us a way of recovering and reorienting ourselves, and embarking on the next stage of our lives with energy and enthusiasm.
To improve our health and wellbeing:
- To destress and experience peace: Perhaps everything is just too much at work, we’re incredibly stressed, and we just want to chill out and let the adrenaline subside? The right holiday will do this, and help us rediscover the things that really matter to us.
- To get sunshine: Winters can be dark and gloomy, vitamin-D deficiency can set in, and we may experience Seasonal Adjustment Disorder. There’s a time of winter when we need warmth and bright sunshine.
- To get plenty of fresh food, without having to prepare it: Similarly, when we’re rushing around with family, a busy career, and huge demands on our time, we can be too exhausted to eat a healthy, fresh diet. One of the joys of going on holiday is to get plenty of fresh, clean food, without having to prepare it!
To better appreciate what we have:
- To appreciate what we have: When we fly overseas, we see many wonderful things. But we also see poverty, and the effects of disease and a lack of resources. Sure, we want to help, but this can also help us appreciate what we have at home.
- To see what’s special about our home, our work, and the people around us: Similarly, experiencing other places and cultures means that we can contrast these with our own, meaning that we can come to understand what is precious about the way we live.
To forge and build great relationships:
- To make friends: Depending on where we live, we may have already met many of the people we’ll meet during the day. By travelling, we can meet new people from very different backgrounds – and make new friends.
- To meet partners: Some of these new friends may grow to become new partners. How wonderful is this?
- To visit family and friends: Our reason to travel may be to visit people we love and like. This is fun,it deepens friendships and relationships, and it’s a great reason to travel!
- To be with family and friends outside the stresses and pressures of life: Alternatively, perhaps we take the people we like and love with us. This allows us to spend time with them in a much less pressurised environment than we normally experience, and rediscover why we love them so much.
For practical reasons:
- For work.
- To help others: Maybe we’re volunteering, or we have special expertise that others need.
- For medical reasons.
- To find work.
- To escape bad things – war, persecution, hunger, and more.
Sometimes, things can be done about these practical reasons. In particular, much work that, in the past, needed to be done face-to-face can now be done remotely. In a post-coronovirus world, we may expect to see much more about this.
The other reasons for travelling are more subtle. In future articles, we’ll explore how we can experience more of them, without having to burn CO2.
Got another reason? Please let me know by commenting!