What WIll You Bring Back From Your Travels?

Some of us are hitting the highways right about now or boarding planes for far away lands. Maybe we will be paying a visit to see family or close friends we have not seen in entirely too long.  Others may be setting sail on a cruise to a tropical paradise or two or perhaps chugging along on a cross country trip by rail.  The form of travel can be an experience in and of itself, but all new destinations (or even ones we have been to before) expand us in so many ways.

When we travel we are exposed to new landscapes, new languages, new customs, new cultures, new climates, new adventures, new people and new foods.  All of these can provide keener perspectives about other parts of the world and its people but also about ourselves.  How did we feel when we were there?  What did we think about the people we encountered? What did we like or not like?  What did we eat? What did we learn?  And, what are some habits, experiences, customs or foods we would like to adapt into our own lives when we return home?

Souvenirs of the Habit Forming Kind

T-shirts or postcards may be some of the items you stuffed in your suitcase before returning home from your travels, but could there be some more intangible items that you bring home with you, too?  Even some you do not need to declare in customs or collect dust on your shelf?

Some of the more elusive souvenirs you could have brought back with you could include these:

• Better Connections - This was the trip you really had the time to spend with your nieces and nephews.  Perhaps you taught them your favorite card game or how to water-ski.  You shared some great laughs and lost track of time being with them.  This was the trip you got to know them and they got to know you.  Or, maybe you met some incredible person of the romantic kind.  A hot new romance may have just sparked.  Or, some people from another culture were so generous and kind with their time and efforts to show you their country.  Now, you are convinced you are friends for life.  In fact, you are hosting them next year.  All connections.  All great.  All crucial to a a better life.

• New Healthy Foods - OK. You ate some weired sounding stuff.  You threw caution to the wind and partook in some strange adventures of the culinary kind.  Good or bad, you tried it.  And, maybe you even liked it.  Did you find a new favorite healthy food or method of cooking?  Or did your time with a relative allow you to learn some secret family recipe that you want to perfect and pass down?  Be sure to share it with others when you get home.

• New Form of Exercise- This trip was full of outdoor escapes and some that included some sporting activities you had never tried.  Maybe you were even good at it.  Great.  Now, bring it back and incorporate it into your exercise routine at home.

• Meditation or Prayer- Other cultures, other religions.  Perhaps you were exposed to a ceremony celebrating a religious belief you do no share.  But, you learned more about it.  Or ,perhaps you were visiting friends that incorporate prayer into their meal time where you do not.  You liked that and now are making that a habit you will try with your family.  Meditation is also important to many cultures.  Your visit with your college friend introduced you to it and now you are going to give it a try at home each morning this week.

• Language - You practiced a few basic expressions to get you by before you left for the other country but after hearing it spoken daily, you were intrigued and want to learn more.  You picked up quite a bit and will go home and study some more for next time you go to a place where they speak that language or return to this one.

• Insight - Maneuvering about locations other than home and meeting new people can provide a heightened confidence about yourself and better understanding of other cultures and what their daily lives and challenges are.  You may learn what their hopes for their part of the world are and how they view your country as well.  Or, you may gain a new perspective on a family member and who they really are just by spending more time and observing them. 

So, what about you and your travels?  What did you bring back and why?  Please tell us your story and share in the comments!


photo credit: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/h_is_for_home/5989809789/">H is for Home</a> via <a href="http://photopin.com">photopin</a> <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.0/">cc</a>

photo credit: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/curtisperry/6876128872/">Curtis Gregory Perry</a> via <a href="http://photopin.com">photopin</a> <a