Mindful Travel: A Guide for Beginners
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Traveling is very enjoyable. It constantly teaches people new things. Every time you travel, you can meet a new culture and learn many things you didn’t know before. It’s a very exciting and fun experience. Including disappointments…However, these disappointments don’t make the trip terrible. Most of the time, you get through with a lot of learning.
The route you set when traveling and the way to enjoy it’s to be mindful. If you’re mindful, you’ll benefit from all your travels in the most efficient way. Being a mindful traveler changes your perspective. You learn to value every moment of your life. You become a person who learns to focus on the positives rather than the negatives.
If you want to be a mindful traveler, but don’t know exactly where to start and what to do, this article is for you. Let’s start by learning what a mindful traveler is.
What Is Mindful Travel?
First of all, if we look at mindfulness in general, we can say that it’s a state of awareness. In other words, being aware of the moment we live and knowing its value. Not being stuck in the past or the future while experiencing that moment, just being in the moment…This may seem like meditation, but it doesn’t have to be just in the moment of meditation. We can be more mindful in every moment of our lives.
Well, if we look at what being mindful has to do with travel, it’s very relevant! Being more mindful while traveling allows you to enjoy the things around you. Think about it this way, instead of ticking the places to visit one by one, you can stop at a particular spot and enjoy it more. You become much more attentive to your surroundings. Your curiosity will increase. All of these make your trip more meaningful and enjoyable.
The Benefits of Mindful Travel
Being a Respectful Traveler
When you travel as a mindful person, you learn to approach different cultures with more respect. For example, in some cultures, it’s necessary to remove shoes when entering the house. However, many travelers may not be aware of these and may annoy locals when invited to a home. However, since you’re mindful, you’ll know this detail. What’s more, besides being beneficial yourself, the locals will treat you with much more respect. They’ll like this move. You’ll give them confidence. There may be many more different cultures, things like greeting or food cultures. In this way, you’ll have much more positive experiences while meeting cultures.
Supporting Locals
When you’re mindful, you support local places rather than chain cafes or restaurants. Tourism is often a major source of income for local people in that areas. If you’re mindful when making various reservations for your holiday you’ll make sure that the money goes to good owners and local people. That doesn’t mean big companies are bad. However, going to their businesses is a perfect way to support local places and encourage such businesses. This includes shopping there from small grocery stores instead of big ones when you travel.
Living the Moment
No more frantically making lists and running around between events! Isn’t it a great idea to just randomly go out for a walk? Being a mindful person will get you a great unplanned vacation. You can sit peacefully in the park for hours. Or, let’s say people you’ve just met have invited you to a party. You don’t have to check your calendar! If you want to go, you go. Spontaneous vacation experience pays off. And it’s very advantageous. You’ll appreciate this travel. There’ll be spaces you set aside for yourself. This can be called a kind of slow travel. You’ll have plenty of time to gain experience. You’ll gain awareness. Most importantly, you’ll live the moment!
There are of course many more benefits to being a mindful traveler. You’ll discover them as you gain experience…Now, here’re some tips for you to be a mindful traveler…
Tips for Mindful Travel
Don’t Expect Too Many Things
We know you’re going on a vacation and it’s normal to have different expectations. You expect to see what you come across on the internet while determining your destination. However, this has a downside: this makes you have too many expectations and be more prone to disappointment.
However, life is full of surprises and not everything can be so certain. So, don’t be so expectant. Learn to accept what will happen. Be prepared for what’s coming your way. Maybe it’ll be much better.
Don’t Be in a Hurry
If you make a list for yourself and try to do them all at once, it’ll only make you tired. Slow down a little. Don’t be in a constant rush. Think about the situation you’re in. Is it worth that much of a fuss? Or will the trip be much more enjoyable if you are calm? The answer seems to be yes! Give yourself time to breathe.
This is a tip that we should apply in all areas of our lives. Yet, it’s of extra importance during the travel. For example, are you having a nice meal? Just enjoy it. Don’t rush. Observe while you eat. Do everything calmly. Don’t feel compelled to get anywhere from here.
Be Minimal
Traveling with heavy bags is difficult. They’ll be an extra burden on you. Not to experience this problem, travel with fewer belongings. While packing, this may seem difficult to you, you may feel like you’ll need everything. But trust us, you won’t need many items on the go.
In this way, your travel will be much more comfortable. This also makes you less stressed. Because your eyes will not always be on your belongings. So, carefully prepare your suitcase. Take essential things with you, and leave things you don’t need.
Importance of Five Senses
This may sound a little interesting to you. But most of the time, what’s needed to live in the moment isn’t our brain, but our five senses!
Focus on your senses in the moment you live. Look at what you hear…Maybe a foreign language. The scent is the ocean scent or the wonderful scents from the forest… Taste sense, great food… Think carefully, isn’t it nice to feel these things? These feelings will stay with you after your trip is over. For example, a scent will remind you of this trip.
Meeting With Local People
One of the best parts of traveling is meeting new people. Moreover, meeting local people. It’s very exciting to hear their stories. Feel free to meet, and start a simple conversation. What you’ll listen to will most likely excite you and you’ll learn much more about the place you’re in.
One of the best ways to meet the locals is to go to the public market. Furthermore, this is advantageous in every way! You’ll both find cheap food and meet the local people. It’ll be an unforgettable trip.
Don’t Focus on Your Phone
You may want to photograph every frame of the moment you live. It can be very nice to share and get likes on Instagram. But stop and think, you might be missing out on your vacation while you’re constantly looking at your phone. We’re not saying don’t take pictures. But after taking a photo or two, start enjoying the moment. You can post the photos after you get home.
Take a break from work emails, too. Don’t constantly text your friends. You’ll talk after you return. These are not things a mindful traveler would do. Better yet, turn off your notifications and delay replying to messages.
Meditate
Meditation is an important part of mindful people’s lives. However, there’s a misconception that people have about this. Meditating doesn’t mean sitting for hours. It’s also possible to meditate on the go. For example, walking is a great way to do this, and you’ll have plenty of time to take a walk while you’re on the travel.
Before you go, you can research the local parks and forests in your destination. These should be available even in popular tourist destinations. Here, you can observe your surroundings while taking a walk to relax.
Write Down Your Experiences
Are you one of those people who get comfortable with writing? If you’re, try this while traveling as well.
Many mindful travelers say they write while they travel. Writing makes people more attentive to their surroundings. At the same time, it increases the ability to adapt. If you don’t like to write a diary, we can also suggest that you write small notes during the day. Don’t forget to take a small notebook with you when you travel.
The Wrap Up
We’ve come to the end of the tips we’ve prepared for you. As you can see, it’s very important to be mindful while traveling. Being aware of your surroundings during your travel allows you to live in the moment. Travel is already a great experience, and a journey this way is much more meaningful. In time, you’ll realize that you’ve become a better traveler thanks to mindfulness.
Remember that mindfulness is a feature that should be in every moment of our lives, not just during travel. It’ll be good for you to make this a habit. We hope you’ll benefit from adapting it to your daily life.