Travel Light

TRAVEL LIGHT I think that’s a really great phrase. There’s a lot of wisdom within those two words. Isn’t the existence that we live in, well, incredible? Two words, just two words can hold such weight. And such a beautiful weight. When most people think of travel light, they tend to think that it holds only a single meaning, which is to bring fewer clothes. I agree with this piece of the phrase’s multifaceted meaning. When pilgrims or peregrinos travel the road to Santiago de Compostela in Northern Spain, not only is the phrase “Buen Camino” used which is sort of a greeting and a well-wish, but it’s also said that the path will provide. Now, I have yet to personally walk the road to Santiago, but I have taken some of its wisdom with me every time I’ve traveled.

Before I moved to Los Angeles, California, I would visit the area as often as I could. I fell in love with not only traveling to California when I did it for the first time at 22, but I also fell in love with travel altogether. The experience of the airport, of being in an unknown place with unknown people, the experience of getting to know those unknown people and unknown places or not getting to know them and simply pondering them—curious of their stories and maybe putting together a story for them—was all something I really found myself enjoying. Reading a good book to pass the long hours of waiting for long flights as well as being on those long flights all while you sat with this growing sense of adventure and curiosity as to what might happen during the trip. Would I find love? Will I make new friends? Meet someone famous? Meet the person that will make it possible for me to become famous? What was it that I was going to experience on this experience called travel?

These are all very open-minded and expectant states of being. A good place to be when you might bump into opportunity. Chance favors the prepared mind. But it’s hard to open yourself up to new experiences and the rush and thrill of meeting new people, or just pondering new people, if you’re carrying a heavy load of mental weight. So, travel light does not strictly speak to the weight of your backpack, but also the worried thoughts that you carry with you on a sometimes daily basis. The really fun part of traveling is that it breaks up your standard routine. When you’re in your routine, you don’t really have to think about even driving to where you have to drive to because you drive there every day.

So, because you’re not really thinking about your actions as you pass through your routine day, this allows your mind to drift from the current moment into the realm of worry, concern, future plans that might hold failure and fear. Travel takes you outside of this because you have to find the gate to the flight that you’re not having to find on a daily basis. So you have to think about this moment now. It’s funny how the peace we always seem to be seeking is simply just in the current moment we’re living in and IGNORING. Travel is a nice way to pull your attention into the moment. The very nature of travel pulls your mind into a less cluttered state. But it’s good to remind yourself that being open and excited about this coming adventure is ok. It’s ok to not worry about every single solitary aspect of your existence and let yourself drift into a daydream that you’ll meet Oprah and she’ll put your books and blogs on the map. So, travel light. Mentally light.

And finally, traveling brings a wonderful lightness to your soul. Travel light. There is light found within the travel and it’s fed directly to your soul. The newness and freshness of experiences brought only by travel are simply good for your soul. You’ll find yourself filled with spirit, joy, and energy when you give in to that desire to pack a very light bag, jump on a flight, and book the hotel or Airbnb or couch of the person you just became good friends with that you’re mostly sure isn’t a serial killer, and GO! Oh, and if you do book a hotel wait until you’re already there. Maybe even have dinner and then find a place to stay for the night. An agenda or itinerary is the cousin of routine. *Travel tip* Most hotels cut the prices down significantly when they’re trying to fill their rooms up for the night. That’s why I’m suggesting to book a place the same day. It’s like playing a game of chicken, but you usually always win. Travel light. Few clothes, few thoughts, plenty of openness to allow the light of the travel experience to fill you. The best experiences that I’ve had traveling were when I had only a single backpack that had a few pairs of shorts and shirts, a good book, and my laptop. Nothing more though. And I always booked my hotels the day of. Or slept on someone’s couch that wasn’t

a serial killer. Travel my friends! But TRAVEL LIGHT! ~Mark Craven

Mark Craven is the author of, “Choice and Triumph”, “Be A Hero to Your Heart”, “Blog Book vol. 1: We Shouldn’t Have Met This Soon” and “Two-Step Success” All titles are self-published. He writes the blog titled, “Read My Blog!”, for his website, www.IAmMarkCraven.com