Why Traveling is More Important Now than Ever

The Importance of Travel in Today’s World

We live in a world of uncertainty these days. Over the past few years bad things and attacks have hit some of the most stable parts of the world. War is raging, innocent people are getting killed and the world can seem like a very cruel place to be in. Many lives have been lost and as one of the many consequences the tourism industry has suffered tremendously worldwide as a result of fear. I will have to say that, and I'm not getting into politics here, that fear is spread by the good guys as well as the bad guys. Whoever they may truly be.

Mark Twain said: "Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one’s lifetime."
 
I think this still holds very true. To fight against fear, it is more important now than ever to travel. I believe that travel expands our minds, broadens our perspectives, and teaches us tolerance to cultures and mentalities that are different from our own. More importantly, travel opens our hearts and makes us more humane and compassionate towards others.

When we travel, especially across borders, we see that people are fundamentally the same, despite differences in culture, religion or belief. No matter what happens between countries and governments, people are people. We are all searching for the same things: a better life, a better future and more purpose.

Amidst all the negativity surrounding the world these days, we need to find more positivity and hope in our lives. And travel lets you do just that. Travel spreads love and shows us the kindness in people. There have been so many encounters with people during my own travels, that have shown their friendliness. Because of this, the importance of travel to me has always been incredibly clear.

It's amazing how different the stories on the ground can be to what we see on TV or in the newspapers. Once again, it goes to show that reality is different from what the media feeds us. So get out there and see for yourself. The world really isn’t such a scary place, no matter if it's made out to be that way..

In times of distress like these, we need to roam, we need to travel, we need to see. We need more love and hope in this world. We need to believe in others and see the beauty in people and the world once again. If we stop traveling, we stop flourishing. We stop accepting people who are different then us and we stop connecting with the world.We need to unite and stay together, because we are always more powerful as a unit. This is true in so many aspects of life. There’s a need for us to choose good over evil.

Let’s break down borders and build bridges that connect all of us, because together, we can fight fear by traveling.

So I will not stop visiting Istanbul. I will not cancel my plans for Spain and I will someday visit Brussels, Berlin and Paris. I will not stop dreaming about those places and I will continue planning my trip to Australia (I'm ever so hopeful). I know that bad things can, and do, happen. But I am hopeful that our collective response to this  is to continue choosing light over darkness , which is bound to eventually make a difference.

The world is too beautiful not to see it.

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