Laura Hsiu-Min Liu
“Travel is one of the most rewarding forms of introspection.” — Lawrence Durrell
Travel enables a simple heart to appreciate life more. Even ordinary flowers and trees draw close attention. It is not because we have never seen their counterparts but because travel makes us see with our heart’s eyes. We do stop and smell the roses.
Travel is a great escape from reality. We get rid of stress by going to a place where the locals might try to run away from their boring routines. A young clerk of a traditional store in the Japanese countryside asked me, “Why did you fly all the way here? What are you interested to see here?” What is considered ordinary “work” can be deemed to be “fun” to foreign travelers. Maybe it is because “the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence,” or maybe it is because “variety is the spice of life.” A little distance and detachment sometimes open our eyes to a new world.
“To my mind, the greatest reward and luxury of travel is to be able to experience everyday things as if for the first time, to be in a position in which almost nothing is so familiar it is taken for granted.” — Bill Bryson
If you are not a goal-oriented traveler, you may expect less and see more. You are not completing tasks or collecting trophies; you are embracing whatever is offered, be it the burning sun or pouring rain. However, you feel your being with all your heart and mind, and with all your strength and soul. You question and answer yourself. You talk to yourself and listen to your inner voice.
Like food, culture is something that cannot be missed during the travel. The exotic taste usually make one recall what we have and what we do not. The differences challenge us to reflect and we benefit from diversity. Not until we encounter a different mindset can it lead to more self-awareness. The exploration of the outside world is is also a journey of self-discovery within. A friend talked about how Japanese thought of giving up seats on the public transportation. It is considered to be polite in our culture to give up seats to the needy. However, Japanese people seldom do so because they think it might threaten the face of the needy person — it shows his/her inability to handle the situation, thereby embarrassing him/her. The notion of “thoughtfulness” may vary vastly from culture to culture. When we give up our seats, whose need do we really meet?
People sometimes make or break a pleasant trip. A ride host of a Merry-Go-Round in Huis Ten Bosch created a strong impression on me. There have been fewer tourists since the 2016 Kumamoto earthquakes struck on April 16. The business of the amusement park was rather slack, even during the summer vacation. On the ride where only 3 kids sat on the flying horsing, the host tried his best to perform dramatically funny acts to entertain his respectable little guests. What an earnest and conscientious man!
We can be agreeable traveling companions or causes of affectionate memories along a life journey by appreciating what has been given.