My favorite place: The Unknown

“Where has been your favorite place to travel so far?” we are often asked.

The answer comes quickly and intuitively.. but I wait….

“We are travelers,” I say….

But aren’t we all, traveling through life, I think? Only some of us choose to expand our experiences by seeing the world.

But what long-term travel invites daily, is to step out of your comfort zone, let go of control, be ok with not knowing what the day will provide and be present with all that it offers. Many times a traveler is invited to experience new flavors, do new things, meet new people. But is it in the “newness” that provides satisfaction? No, I’d say it’s in the not knowing what life will serve up that does the trick.

Travel invites us to connect with the very essence of life, the uncertainty of not knowing what is going to happen and the invitation to be present through the creation of the experience. In other words, it’s about living life in the moment, which in my experience, can only be accessed through the uncertainty and the unknown and the willingness to go there.

Who knows what life will bring? Frankly, none of us do. Most of us have bought up with the illusion that certainty, security, stability and plans are the foundations of life. Most of us spend our lives striving for this very thing.

Traveling for me is less about the places we go to. We’ve traveled through jungles, forests, mountains, beaches and deserts, all great memories and all great adventures. Although the places change, opportunities to explore deeper arise and the deeper I step into not knowing what will happen next, the more I am sure of where our favorite place actually is.

We are often asked, where has been our favorite place.

“We are travelers…” I say, “but our favorite place is the unknown.”