8 Things a Modern Philosopher Can Teach Us about Travel

"We discover ourselves out in the wild."
by Meg Santibanez | November 16, 2016

The allure and newfound ease of global traveling has caught the world by storm. Lately, though, we’ve been busy asking about the “where,” creating an endless list of destinations devoid of the “how” and “why.”

Let’s answer all the aforementioned with The Art of Travel by Alain de Botton, a modern philosopher who’s been feeding the world the right amount of wisdom.

8. The experience hinges on your attitude.

A journey can feel boring for another person but exciting for someone else. Traveling is dependent on your mindset — attitude is your ticket.

7. Traveling alone can be revelatory.

Traveling alone allows us to explore and wander the world without limits, without set standards, just you and the world.

6. We seek beauty through instinct.

To discover and see the world in a different angle, that’s our reason for traveling, because we seek to engrave our experiences with our encounters with Beauty — yes, with a big B.

5. We discover ourselves out in the wild.

The world is vast, and so are the possibilities of who we might really be. Therefore traveling goes hand in hand with self-discovery, hence our desire to travel.

4. The takeaway in traveling is abstract.

The best souvenirs we can bring home are self-reflections that last for a lifetime.

3. We travel to fill a void.

Traveling allows us to fall in love with other cultures to the point of wanting to be part of it — proof that the world is interconnected.

2. The world is more than we imagine it to be.

We will observe things that we can’t understand in our travels, and it’s perfectly fine because the world, together with the outer space, were conceived by forces beyond our comprehension and it’s perfectly okay for them to remain in that state of mystery.

1. A little escapism can be healthy.

Sometimes we just need a breath of fresh air. Anywhere that doesn’t remind us of our robotic lives at work. Hence we even take pleasure in mundane places like the other side of town, or the same place in the early morning. We don’t even have to go far away, or even leave — as long as we see and do something else, something different from what we see and do each normal day.

What extraordinary experiences have you learned from traveling? Share them with us below.

This article was originally published on 8List.ph.