You don’t have to leave the house to see the world

By Leigh Shulman On March 31, 2010 · 29 Comments

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I write this article sitting on a new couch in a house with a back yard and a signed 2-year lease. Can you imagine? Two whole years living in one place? We bought a large piece of furniture? It seems unimaginable after almost three years of constant travel.

But wait! Does this mean I can no longer call myself a bonafide traveler? In some ways, yes. Mostly, no.

Travel isn’t about having the crazy-hard story to tell, about the time you got stuck on the bad side of town with no idea where you were after missing your boat and ended up sharing your mat with a chicken. Although those are fun stories to tell. Travel also isn’t just about visiting the wonderful sights and experiences this planet has to offer, although that’s a huge part of it. I mean, imagine if I left Iceland never having visited the Blue Lagoon spa? (Which, by the way, if you’re going anyway, I suggest visiting immediately upon arriving in the country. There’s an airport bus that will take you and your luggage to the spa and then after, when you’re properly relaxed, to Reykjavik.)

Your eyes, ears and mouth open wide to even the most mundane of daily events, and each sense welcomes the new without expectation. It is, dare-I-say-it, exactly how a child sees the world.

True travel is something else.

There’s a certain openness of spirit common to all Travelers.

Your eyes, ears and mouth open wide to even the most mundane of daily events, and each sense welcomes the new without expectation. It is, dare-I-say-it, exactly how a child sees the world.

Travel is about adapting to the new and allowing experience to wash over you without judgment. It’s about rolling with the punches and not rolling your eyes.

And it is each person’s choice to see the world as a Traveler or not, just as happiness is so often a choice. Living in one place with one job and one weekly schedule, it’s easy to believe the restlessness or even unhappiness you feel comes from routine. Of course, it’s easier to see the world anew each day when in fact, everything you’re seeing is actually new, but it’s also just as easy to recreate your routine on the road.

The challenge, at base, is to view each day, each event and each moment with fresh eyes, because no matter how little luggage you may bring along for your next trip, you always bring yourself.

About The Author

Leigh Shulman

Leigh Shulman is a writer, photographer and mom living in Salta, Argentina. There, she runs Cloudhead Art, an art & education group that creates collaborative art using social media to connect people and resources. You can read about her travels on her blog The Future Is Red

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David Page

Dead on, Leigh! Openness of spirit. Digging where you stand (to borrow from Mike Davis). Been working on something to the same effect of late, with buddies of mine off skiing and ice climbing in Chamonix, or in Alta, while I spend my Sunday poking around old mine ruins in the Benton Range with the little boys; it’s something you really begin to look at when you have kids, and/or when you start to travel deep instead of wide. Here’s old John Burroughs on the subject, from 1886 (A Sharp Lookout, Signs and Seasons):

“I sit here amid the junipers of the Hudson, with purpose every year to go to Florida or to the West Indies or to the Pacific coast, yet the seasons pass and I am still loitering, with a half-defined suspicion, perhaps, that, if I remain quiet and keep a sharp lookout, these countries will come to me.

“One’s own landscape comes in time to be a sort of outlying part of himself; he has sowed himself broadcast upon it, and it reflects his own moods and feelings; he is sensitive to the verge of the horizon: cut those trees, and he bleeds; mar those hills, and he suffers.”

Cheers,

dp

http://www.thefutureisred.typepad.com/ Leigh Shulman

Thank you, David. That was really beautifully said. And as someone who has a connection to the Hudson, its trees and the Palisades, I find your words hit home (so to speak) even more.

You ask in another post whether guidebooks are still useful. In this sense, they most definitely are. If you can write a book that truly represents a place in the way a long time local sees it, then you have done something unique and something that will not be obsolete.

http://www.deliciouschaos.com/ Nick Rowlands

Totally agree! The penultimate paragraph in particular resonates with me. Too often we entirely blame external circumstances for how we feel, when the problem might be that we are seeing things with dead eyes. You don’t need to travel to see the world as full of wonder.
http://www.sierrasurvey.com David Page

And yet to be truthful, it is sometimes easier said (even said eloquently) than done. Wanderlust is like shingles: you can keep it in check, but it never really goes away.

http://www.thefutureisred.typepad.com/ Leigh Shulman

It is most definitely easier said than done. I remember our last year or two in Brooklyn. I was going NUTS. I hated everything about it. Of course, when I go back, I miss, cherish and love those same things.

I suppose this is as much a reminder to myself how important it is to at least try to see the beauty and freshness in everything. Otherwise, that leaves many of us with a life of gray cement holding together the bright spots of wanderlust fulfillment. I want my cement to be gorgeous, too.

http://www.holisticwithhumor.com Christine Garvin

I recently pulled a rune whose message has stuck with me: “live an ordinary life in an extraordinary way.” When staying in one place, this, on a daily basis, is both my practice and challenge.

http://www.thefutureisred.typepad.com/ Leigh Shulman

Yes, it is most definitely a challenge. I know I wrote the article as if I have it all down. But the reality is I have to remind myself, too.

And there is most certainly something about writing these thoughts down for everyone to see that forces me to take my own words and actions more seriously.

Nancy Harder

Thank you for this, Leigh. I feel like your piece could be a key scripture in my personal bible. I love so much how you said true travel is an openness of spirt. Since I began traveling I’ve been able to consciously choose that openness of spirit at home too. What a more joyful state of being. I plan to choose my travelers third eye (as often and imperfectly as I can) while I live in our new VA house.

http://www.thefutureisred.typepad.com/ Leigh Shulman

It is wonderful how travel can brighten our daily life if we allow.

We too have just moved into a new house. I wonder, sometimes, if my pleasure in all the small things related to the house — the sweededees out back, the horse that wanders in from the road, owning a comfortable couch — will fade after we’ve been here for a while.

I hope not. Of course at the same time, perhaps that’s a sign for ourselves that it’s time to shake things up and make a change.

Candice Walsh

I thought about this post on my way to work today, with the view of downtown ahead of me and inhaling nothing but clean, fresh air. Every moment is a travel opportunity, if you make it one.

http://www.thefutureisred.typepad.com/ Leigh Shulman

I would love to see a photo of that!

http://ishouldlogoff.com Jillian

Thanks for this Leigh! Beautifully written.

Having been on the road for so long, I look back on the small pleasures of my “normal” stationary life with a certain fondness. If you just open your eyes and your mind you’ll find that you don’t have to go very far to appreciate the world around you. Traveling has taught me that the most amazing things are sometimes right in front of your face.
http://beatravelbee.com Joya

Hi Leigh,

I can definitely be unhappy when I feel like I am stuck in the same routine everyday but I am trying to see the new and thanks for the writing this article!
Rosie

I really enjoyed this piece. I really think it is possible to travel without leaving the house. Finances amongst other things have put my days on the road are on hold. However I am on a journey exploring my life as well as my own back yard. I am also lucky enough to have several penfriends in countries around the world so do visit their countries through their letters…….
Amellia

Your eyes, ears and mouth open wide to even the most mundane of daily events, and each sense welcomes the new without expectation. It is, dare-I-say-it, exactly how a child sees the world,

Exactly exactly exactly. There’s no other way to express it. Very nice article Leigh (:
http://www.wildflowerhikesmontana.com Carolyn Hopper

“Life is either a daring adventure or it is nothing. To keep our faces toward change and behave like free spirits in the presence of fate is strength undefeatable.” Helen Keller
Every morning I look out at the mountains around me and think – I’ve climbed there and explored the trails, creeks and seen the wildflowers. And I think how I love being my own “Corps of Discovery” without waiting for another President Jefferson.

Travel to far away or exotic places does draw my interest and I won’t write those travels off, but if I keep a far away look in my eye, I miss the wonders right under my nose – wolf tracks in the mud and snow, bison frolicking through sagebrush, blue birds flying ahead of me down the road, or a dragonfly landing on my shoulder.

I loved your article!

Keep your sense of wonder everyone!
http://wheretherebedragons.com Tim Patterson

Very true.
KB

Well said!

I’m coming out of a long illness and after almost three months of seeing only my house and the hospital, places a few miles away seemed incredibly exotic and exciting. Imagine my first trip at new year to see my parents (a whole fifty miles away)! Before I was bored and frustrated by being in one place – it is so amazing the difference outlook makes, and thank you for reminding me!

I’ve also thought a lot about the things I would do – cultural experiences, sites of interest and festivals – if I were travelling. How often do I actually bother to do that at home? “Oh, I’ve got a free afternoon. I wonder if there’s an interesting exhibition open?” I feel like sometimes our lives on the road are more fulfilling because we take the time to do those things, to connect with other people without being distracted by routine.
http://alainarose.wordpress.com Alaina O’Brien

“…no matter how little luggage you may bring along for your next trip, you always bring yourself.” So true. Nearly anything/action can be traveling, a journey or adventure…
http://canvas-of-light.blogspot.com/ Daniel N.

Amazing piece Leigh, so very true.

I used to absolutely hate the place I lived in for the past 5 years. I would jump on any occasion to talk negatively about it.
I then traveled from Europe to Asia, for the past 8 months and now I am back to the same country, for a short holiday break (to see family). I am impressed how my vision changed after those long months on the road!

It is important to keep wide open eyes and a childish curiosity to be able to enjoy the world around us. Without it, even exotic places would seem dull and meaningless. It is even more important for me as I am a photographer, and having to take photos of the same spot is often a challenge, easily overcome by being curious and discovering again and again!

Thanks!
http://matadortravel.com/travel-community/gypsynoir Shreya

After feeling stuck in the city I grew up in, I’m slowly falling back in love with it. I approach it like it’s a new place, and it has worked beautifully so far. Keeps me from killing myself or running away. And there’s a beauty in the travel that I do manage to do — it’s not an escape, it’s an exploration. Thanks for this.
http://kiwitravelwriter.com heather -the kiwitravelwriter

Travel is all about attitude too . where ever you are is a travel destination for Someone else and when teaching travel writing I remind attendeed to write stories about ‘your own backyard.’ You dont have to have a round the world air ticket (altho I love them!) to travel.

One thing i like about travlling away from home include what happens when i come home still with mt travellers eys working well and i see my home city in differnt ways — some great, some not so good!

And for those who can’t travel for many reasons, like money or health, sign up to a few blogs and follow the travels of someone who can take you there in their writing, and join the library, hire dvds and check out countries online
Matt Scott

Great piece, so many good topics raised. Thanks
http://www.connvoyage.com Connie

Thank you so much for talking about how daily life can mean adventures! Personally, I prefer to travel as I like the challenge of being lost in a foreign country but I always tell my friends and family back home to prefer to be home that they can still make their lives spontaneous and exciting, that they don’t need to feel that “normal life” means boring. Thanks for supporting me in this! I thoroughly enjoyed reading this article!
http://matadortravel.com/traveler/evasandoval EvaSandoval

Happiness and adventure is all about being open to it, wherever we are. A great essay reminding us of that very fact.
gabrielle

That’s a very nice introduction. Where’s the body of the article, though? I wish you showed how one could “travel” without leaving your house. There are many ways I’m sure, but I was hoping that with your experience, you could show us that it is probable and how enjoyable that could be. I can’t wait what you have to say about this. Please add more.
https://thegreengrassgrowsallaround.blogspot.com lm

I like this. Traveling as you have has not been an option, and vacations as most think of them has not been in the budget, so we have explored our own backyard and created even silly day trips to funny named towns or out of the way restaurants and just enjoyed what was to be seen along the path.
http://frithrugs.co.uk/ Rea

Well written article.I appreciate your writing skills.Its great.You have done a great job by sharing this post with us.I like this post.I would like to read your more updates in future too.Keep in touch with us.
http://www.simplelighting.co.uk/ Richard

I would never have normally come here to read the blogs but I’m really glad I did. Will definitely be coming back.Some interesting thoughts on the subject. Looking forward to see what else you post in the future.

You don’t have to leave the house to see the world

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