Travel to feed your soul…
Sharing home made vodka, from a tin cup, with the locals in the Republic of Georgia
As you journey through life, choose your destinations well, but do not hurry there.
Wander the back roads and forgotten paths
Seek out new voices, strange sights, and ideas foreign to your own.
Such things are riches for the soul.
And if, upon arrival, you find that your destination is not exactly as you had dreamed, do not be disappointed.
Know that the true worth of your travels lies not in where you arrive at the journey’s end,
but in who you become along the way.*
Who you become along the way, that is the difference between travel and a vacation. When people ask me “where should we go”, that is the first question I ask them “do you want to vacation, or do you want to travel?” Both have their place, but if you give some thought to the purpose of the trip, you are more likely to get what you are looking for.
By my definition, a vacation is mindless, relaxing, maybe even involves pampering. Whether that means just sleeping until noon, reading a book by the fire, snoozing by a pool, or playing tennis, hiking and ending the day with a great meal – all good ways to spend a much needed vacation.
Travel involves not always knowing what comes next, giving up control, relying on the locals, and often, some degree of challenge, or even discomfort, but through all of this, you experience a destination and it’s people in a very different way. No matter how off-course an adventure goes, I have found the pay off is always there – enriching experiences that leave me connected in some small, but deep way, with another culture.
It can be a tough decision whether to travel or vacation. We all have too much stress and can certainly make the case for being entitled to relaxation and pampering, but in my experience, indulging myself gets boring pretty quickly. The good news is, these days, it is possible to combine soul-nurturing, mind-expanding travel, with a little vacationing.
Vacation replenishes the body, travel feeds the soul!
*I am a master Googler, but I could not dig up the author of these wise words. It is used on many websites, plagiarized on a few, and attributed to “anonymous” on others. (and once to Jorge Heredia, but I could not verify that)
I like the way you explain the difference between vacation and travel. I always call it a vacation, but really – whenever I go somewhere, I’m traveling! Never really like the relaxation, pampering type of vacation. Always looking for things I’ve never seen, going to out of the way places, taking those small curious roads, eating in the places that are not food-chains, staying in the small boutique hotels or B&B’s. Whether it be in our out of the country, always enjoy new experiences. (As my husband always says when he’s in his floating chair in our pool, with a good book and a glass of ice tea – why do we have to leave for a vacation, when we can relax right here.)
I love this and guess I never really thought about the differences. We have never been one to sit an relax too much but we do enjoy a great golf trip to a new course and new hotels….which would be a vacation. However, our trips to New Zealand and Europe have really been so exciting because of the unplanned nature and the locals that we meet. I am so ready to travel!