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Travel–Some of my best lessons have come from the road

Ten life lessons from travelling

In my journey called life, I have had several teachers holding my hand, shaping my beliefs, strengthening my resolve, inspiring me to push my boundaries and helping me to learn from my mistakes. From spiritual gurus, to family , to tutors at educational institutions, to some friends and mentors, I have had many teachers. And yet, some of my best lessons in life have come from my journeys on the road. And I would like to share some of them with you. So here are the ten life lessons from travelling that I have learnt.
ladakh-pangongtso
1.Travel has helped me to shape my attitude to a large extent in the recent years. It has taught me a wee bit of patience, tolerance and an ability to take things as they come. It has made me self reliant and independent and has helped me develop a quick presence of mind and grasping power.

2. Many a time, when things go beyond me, travel has helped me to realize to accept the situation as is. It has given me confidence, a bit of resilience despite the many anxieties and the panic attacks that I have faced in life or while travelling. I am still learning to live and deal with all my fears and insecurities, but travel is helping me to shed some inhibitions along the way.

 

3.Of the ten life lessons from travelling, this is the most important.  It has humbled me. When you walk into a large square full of people or visit an ancient monument or gaze at a mountain from the valley, you realize you are a speck in the universe. A dot whose worries and joys melt with the elements. It helps you to realize that your big ego lives and dies with you.

 

4.Travel has given me a strong sense of grounding rather than a fake sense of achievement or pride. It has helped me realize what I can do, what I cannot and has helped me to live and accept it. It prepares you for the best and worst in life. It helps you realize that even if you fly business class, you have to deal with turbulence.

 

5. Of course , travel has helped me to merge with the milieu ; I try to blend in , but I still retain my individuality. Travel has taught me to experience ; it is also adding a little layer called “experience” to me. One of the ten life lessons from travelling that is relevant even today.

 

6. It has opened doors, widened my vistas and has given me a sense of both reality and fantasy. It has made me empathetic, rational at times and has woken the dormant “me “.

 

7.Travel has given me a strong sense of balance. It has taught me to be on my guard and not to try foolhardy things in the name of adventure. I push my limits, only when  I understand my body and mind completely. I have also tried to understand the atmosphere and the sensibilities around me, before attempting anything new. One of the ten life lessons from travelling is that travel however has also made me learn something new at every step. It has made me try new things, explore new vistas and push me beyond some boundaries.

 

8.Travel has taught me to accept and understand change. It has taught me to live with it. It has helped me realize that everything in life is transient, even this moment as I explore something new. It has taught me to be a bit flexible and adjust, which is a bit trying at times. It has also helped me realize that plans can always change at the last minute and I should go with the flow.

 

9.Travel has helped me to break some prejudices. I am still trying to accept things unconditionally but I have learnt to drop baggage and let go of some unwanted weight along the way. On a different note, I have to learnt to pack light and travel with whatever I have with me , keeping functionality as the thumb rule

 

10. Most importantly travel has made me discover a new facet of me. I am my best companion when I travel. It has helped me to understand me as a person and live with my frailties and foibles.

 

I hope to be healthy always and be on the road all the time and keep learning, discovering..May this journey never end ..

34 comments

  1. Kyra 5 September, 2012 at 01:37 Reply

    a beautiful travel post, it was a pleasure reading it, keep up with your travels, keep sharing them.

    recently started following your blog and it’s been a lovely place to visit, kudos.

    Happy journey 🙂

  2. Trotter 5 September, 2012 at 18:50 Reply

    Hi Lakshmi! It has been a long absence, but things have been a bit hard: father 95, mother almost 91 doing radiotherapy, wife broke right elbow and I’m consuming some much needed holidays to take care of all this…

    Great post. What a pleasure to land here!!

    As far as Blogtrotter Two is concerned, it seems nobody is interested in St. Kitts, so maybe I should try something else. Anyhow, enjoy and have a great week or better a vacation, if still available!!!

  3. Anuradha Shankar 5 September, 2012 at 23:15 Reply

    lovely post, Lakshmi!!!! and every one of those points is so true… esp no.3!! thats what drives me to age old monuments and temples… again and again and again!! and somehow, in some places, there is that feeling of connecting, of somehow being able to travel back in time… its such a wonderful feeling!!!! as to no no. 4, oh thats so so true… i have had amazing expereinces in ST buses and horrible experiences in the best of places!!! travel really teaches us such a lot!!!

  4. Priyank 7 September, 2012 at 06:30 Reply

    Hey Lakshmi,
    You cannot see me nodding vigorously in approval. It’s a transformative experience and those who get it will get it, those who won’t won’t. Thanks for the inspirations! 🙂

  5. Vivek Pal 30 January, 2014 at 16:00 Reply

    Rightly Said Laxmi Sarath. Travel is a great teacher and one of the most beautiful thing about travel i like is Freedom it gives i.e the feel of the freedom of life.

  6. Nikhila D. 18 June, 2014 at 19:54 Reply

    Hello Lakshmi!
    Being a lover of travelling myself, I can’t agree more with you. The interactions one has with various people of different cultural / traditional backgrounds are life lessons worth remembering through the course of our lives. The friends we make both with the people and the places are memories to be cherished.

    Loved reading your blog-post! 🙂

    Nikhila.

  7. mahesh 24 July, 2014 at 18:29 Reply

    Hi Lakshmi,

    This was such a heartfelt post; whenever I find a bit of free time I sit and patiently read your old posts. You truly are an inspiration. Wishing you all the very best to discover many new places and hope you blog about them to enlighten souls like me 🙂

    I loved this set of lines – ‘It has helped me realize that everything in life is transient, even this moment as I explore something new. It has taught me to be a bit flexible and adjust, which is a bit trying at times. It has also helped me realize that plans can always change at the last minute and I should go with the flow.’ 🙂

    Thanks,
    Mahesh

  8. Gomathi Shankar 5 September, 2014 at 14:29 Reply

    True .. Travel teaches us the most important life lessons. I have experienced it several times in life .. Good to see you connecting this to the Teacher’s day.. To the best teacher! – GS

  9. Rutavi Mehta 5 September, 2015 at 11:00 Reply

    Lovely article Lakshmi..I can relate to point 3 & 8 very closeley than others… You have said thinngs that travel teaches each one….Glad you shared your perspective of learning! I would share mine today and share with u !

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