Alone can be a very scary word. Almost taboo. Who asks for a table for 1 anyway?
I do on occasion. I’ll go to the movies alone, try out new restaurants alone and explore new places…alone.
Make no mistake. It can be incredibly fulfilling to go on an adventure with a good friend or a companion. If you and your companion are non-selfish travelers, you may end of going to places you would not think to explore if you were on your own; making for a truly unique adventure. But, there is something to be said for forging a path for yourself all on your own. No group rules, no squad constraints, just you.
Some of the most striking realizations can happen when you are alone:
- Coming out of a difficult yoga pose and realizing that the only thing that was stopping you was yourself.
- Looking up into the big blue sky without a cloud in sight and realizing that even though you were surrounded by people, you are still on your own.
- Staring up at the moon on a cold, dark night walking home and realizing that it’s okay to be alone. Recognizing how wonderfully big the world is and how full of love and contentedness one can be with so little.
After reading this resounding article about 10 life-altering things one should do on their own, and realizing that I’d already done some of the things on this list, in the next few posts I will comment on some and add a few of my own.
Travel
Nothing can make you feel as small, infantile and uncomfortable as traveling to a place you have never been before, especially if you don’t know the language very well. No exaggeration, the first few days are hell as you acclimate, and after a week, you might feel super exhausted because you are on high alert. All the time.
Then, something wonderful happens (assuming you are an adaptable person). You get used to feeling uncomfortable, and you are less and less aware of the fact that this place you have traveled to is new because you become accustomed to your surroundings. Better still, you may start to find beauty in the little things around you.
More than the landmarks and sights that you’d read about in books or looked up on the internet, you become aware of and begin to participate in the small-town life around you. You try out a local coffee shop or two before you find the one you like the most. You might stumble upon a bookstore tucked away or an art gallery that you had passed a few times before but never really saw because you were overwhelmed by the newness of your surroundings. You begin to explore and as you explore you become bolder. You might try the local flavors, ask around and find the spot that the locals like to hang out at. You begin to talk with the people of the town or the city you are staying in and before you know it this place has become a second home. It may only take two weeks, it may take a month – maybe even a year! -but sooner than you think, without really being aware of it, this once strange place that you have traveled to has become your place. You have wrapped your mind around this newness, boldly explored the space around yourself and you have made this place your own.
And you may not realize it while you’re living it, but your friends and family sure will. By this point, you have become a badass. Adaptable, a quasi-local, you will have done what not many dare to do: you have traveled, adventured to a new place and you have managed to thrive there.
Trust me (this disembodied entity behind the screen) if you have made it to that point, it will be hard to leave this new place that now feels like a second home. The spirit of wanderlust will have planted a spark within you that is not easily quelled. When once you were satisfied to go nowhere, you will now always want to travel.
Honor yourself through travel.
Caia Rose 