October brought a grand experience of travel for me. Five of us embarked upon a two-week self-created tour that was packed with planes, trains, guided tours, lots of food and memory making. On the first day together, during a walking tour of a castle that is over 1000 years old, I realized that the trip would also include many Mindfulness Lessons for me along the way. I am sharing some Mindful travel reflections with you in this month’s blog: Presence, Gratitude, Perspective, What’s Meaningful/Valuable.
Mindful travel means, as best you can, being fully present to the sights, sounds, structures, textures, art, people, and culture in the places you are visiting. It involves slowing down and engaging with a sense of curiosity, being open to learning, and showing up with a “not knowing everything” mind. Being intentionally mindful during travel increases the potential for deeper connection with ourselves and the world around us. Traveling mindfully can create a richer experience, allowing us to discover new and different things and creates lasting memories.
My perspective around persistence and resilience was ignited and expanded as I learned about the numerous changes, renovations, rebuilding, and reconstruction the people and structures have undergone during that first castle tour in Prague. How wonderful it was to be more aware of and present to the outcomes of ongoing change. As the trip progressed, I appreciated hearing the perspectives of each local tour guide. Each one provided their own unique information and experiences. I was grateful for their wealth of knowledge about the history of the places we visited. These were lessons in the universality of humans, differences in humans, and what is meaningful and valuable.
Throughout the trip, I noted that experiences were richer when we engaged with some local people, asked recommendations from them, and tried new or different local cuisine. Our family now has a fun and memorable story about fish soup! I was able to experience a deeper connection to the world when we took time to pause and just stare at and listen to the sounds of the river we observed after hiking up to an overlook. It was meaningful to pause at a church we searched and found as we knew that family members had been there before us, in this same place. Another valuable memory will be when we took time to relax on a river boat and through mindful awareness, experienced that sense of fulfillment, love, joy, connection, and awe of celebrating time together under the stars.
These are helpful takeaways I will try to remember from my travel:
1. Focus on being present; taking in whatever you’re visiting versus trying to capture the moment in a photo or on video. Give yourself permission to stare at things without interruption. When the mind wanders off, just noting the distraction and without judgement, refocus on what is before you. Then perhaps take a photo to mark the experience.
2. Visit places that will naturally create some reflection, pausing and presence. This might include hiking to the top of a peak to look out over a city or in nature, visiting a monastery, ancient structures or a remarkable piece of art.
3. Attend to your current state and take compassionate breaks from the doing and going to just be—rest, regroup, relax and reflect. This helps with storing long-term memories of experiences.
4. Attend to future thinking. It is easy when one shifts from one location to another during travel to be focused on what’s next. Be aware and note when this occurs, perhaps remind yourself in some way that the plans are in place, you will figure them out, etc., and then refocus on the present moment and what is there to be seen, heard, felt, tasted and experienced.
Traveling can be stressful, especially when there are time zones, unknown languages, transportation schedules, and other people involved. It is helpful to set some intentions ahead of time on how you will be mindful, practice noting what’s occurring and making skillful responses. For me, this involves practicing the abilities of going with the flow, using flexibility and identifying what’s called for to create a safe, meaningful and connected experience. The practice of mindful travel leads to self-discovery, self-renewal and perhaps, more memorable experiences.
Join us in person or via Zoom on Nov 3rd at EUCC Monthly Mindfulness. RSVP for Zoom link: (https://www.mindfulnessandmotion.com/events).
I will be teaching 3 different courses starting in the next few weeks. Check them out if you’re interested: (https://www.mindfulnessandmotion.com/events).
Consider contacting me for individual mentorship (https://www.mindfulnessandmotion.com/general-6) to assist you in exploring and growing a mindfulness practice in ways that contribute to health and well-being.
Happy Travels this month whether that involves traveling across town, across the country or to another place yet to be discovered. Wishing you well as you contemplate presence, wherever you are,
Karen
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