For as long as I can remember, I have not been able to sleep the
night before a trip. The sheer excitement of the forthcoming journey keeps me
sleepless, changing sides. Although I would find many travelers who would share
with me the sleepless night syndrome, few might disagree with me on the
'excitement' factor. They will say they are sleepless not because of the
excitement, but the fear of travel. This essay is dedicated to all such people.
I believe our reaction to travel depends much on the way we perceive
it. However, the personal definitions that we have should somewhere be adopted
from the literal meaning. Let's see if that is the case. So, what is travel
(literally)? Merriam-Webster enlightens me with a very interesting fact -
Main Entry: 1trav·el
Pronunciation: \'tra-v?l\
Function: verb
Inflected Form(s): trav·eled or trav·elled; trav·el·ing or
trav·el·ling \'tra-v?-liŋ, 'trav-liŋ\
Etymology: Middle English travailen, travelen to torment, labor,
strive, journey, from Anglo-French travailler
Date: 14th century
Notice the Etymology. The word Travel has originated from a
French word Travail, essentially meaning a tedious work. Apparently, some 700
years ago, travel was synonymous with being tormented. A word which originated
as a torture device (that too from French) and transformed itself into a
flourishing modern day service industry could be nothing but a vibrant creative
art. Just like any other art forms, there are no rules but just varying
ideas.
Expectations what?
Shakespeare has famously said, 'Expectation is the root of all
heartache'. Same is true in the perspective of travel as well. An expectation
is a belief that is centered on future and may or may not be realistic.
Negative results are bound to create disappointment, but the most irritating
part is that the positive/expected results would not bring excitement either.
They are cursed to fall under the dictum of "Uhh! As expected” Why should
we expect from travel? Let it be as uncertain as possible and then let every
surprise be a whole new doze of life for us.
This is where a traveler differentiates himself from a tourist.
A tourist has a plan with him before he leaves his home. A traveler has no
plans, no rules and as a result no limitations. A traveler, unlike a tourist is
not inspired by his destination. The only inspiration is the individual himself
and such kind of self inspired journey is more of a slam book rather than a
route. So what about the plans? Well, they are allowed to be constructed and
re-constructed along the way.
Where are we heading?
At this point, aptly the story unfolds. Is all this pain, to
arrive at my aspired destination?
No.
A traveler's journey is more important than the destination. In
fact there are no destinations in a traveler's map. For a smart and seeking
traveler the apparent destination is just a mere clue for next journey.
Approaching our travel with such an outlook, we might need to edit our
dictionaries wherein the word DESTINATION is but a conjunction of words DESTINY
and STATION. The idea is that while traveling, we never arrive. Engrossed
utterly in the elements of nature, the intention is not to arrive, but to
strive. We strive until we are one with nature. We also strive until we travel
equal distance within, as on the road.
Not all travelers need to connect with nature in order to
travel. A decent appreciation is always welcome, but love for people, societies
and culture would trigger similar motivation in them. This is beautiful to
absorb that our movement not only changes the sight (that which we see) but our
point of reference as well. When we travel across cultures we open ourselves to
see familiar things through a different point of view. Sometimes it falls upon
as a life changing experience.
This art has various signature styles as well. These styles are
influenced by our purpose or more precisely by the 'clues' that I mention
above. There are travelers who travel to discover the known in the unknown and
the ones who travel to explore the unknown in the known. And then there are
people seeking better answers from their travel, coming across equal number of
people seeking better questions to start with.
Why so serious?
Why not travel just for the sake of it? Do we really need to
attach a specific purpose with every move that we make? The answers lie more or
less in the way we choose to be. Specifically, whether we choose to grow or
continue as we are. After all, mere sight is nothing but a piece of
information, but to see with awareness (i.e. purpose) is the seed of knowledge.
Just like a elegant painter, paint your canvas of life
while traveling on road, with the dust and stones you gather. Every now and
then, take a break and look at the picture. If the canvas resembles a map, KEEP
WALKING
