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WELLNESS
How to become a mindful traveler
MINDFULNESS IS A CALMING STATE OF MIND, THAT SUITS EVERYDAY LIFE TOO
Mindfulness is the practice of focusing on one thing at the time, learning to be fully present and connecting with our surroundings. It's an incredibly calming and grounding method, and I find, the perfect remedy to the chaos that can be traveling sometimes.
One thing that grounds me the most while in a new place is finding ays to stay truly present. It allows me to experience the most out of my trip and stay true to my limits.
Traveling is magical and yet overwhelming. Taking in all new information, adapting to strange situations, different sounds, smells, tastes, is a lot, and we were not meant to travel to different parts of the world so fast, not leaving time to our bodies or minds to catch up.
HERE ARE SOME TIPS TO SUPPORT YOU IN STAYING CONNECTED AND FULLY PRESENT IN ALL YOUR ADVENTURES.
1/ DO LESS AND SEE MORE
There is more to traveling than hitting all of the top places to see on a Tripadvisor page. One lesson that we've learned from moving constantly is that you can learn a lot more about a culture and people by simply sitting on a terrace, a coffee or glass of wine in hand, observing people around you and imagining what it would be like to live here.
You might even pick up a tip or two on where to go, what to see and most importantly, what to order in a restaurant !
LOUISE HERE !
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2/ ENGAGE WITH WHERE YOU ARE
I know how tempting it is to show the world exactly what you are doing every step of your trip, but putting your phone away from time to time will help you emerge yourself in the place you are visiting.
It's also about connecting with people around you, letting your senses explore everything that is going on around you without dulling them with your camera. To help me stay away from social media, I've put together a system of alarms. When sitting somewhere, I get ten minutes of internet and world news, and then I reconnect with everything that surrounds me. Let me tell you, it has made a huge difference !
3/ CONNECT WITH LOCALS
Part of what you have to gain by being more present is an opportunity to meet people. Not only do they usually have the best tips on where to eat, what to see, where to shop etc, we have made amazing friends by connecting with people on our travels. Oddly enough, the people we've met weren't always locals, but sometimes fellow travelers, and we have made the best memories, traveling with groups of new friends. You never know who you'll meet !
4/ BLEND IN WITH THE CULTURE
Part of being mindful to me, is being respectful and experience things the way people from said place do. By blending in, and respecting the country's culture, you make sure to get a little taste of life as a local. It's also a sign of respect and can get you a long way to get closer to people. When I lived in Nepal, I learned that the forehead is regarded as the most sacred part of the body, and you shouldn't touch kids' heads, or that ou should always eat with the right hand, since the left is used for cleaning. All things that came in very handy when interacting with people there !
5/ STOP COMPARING
To be truly present, it's important to avoid comparing the place you are at with home or other trips you might have taken. You can't really compare two things anyways, and it would take you from keeping an open mind about where you are now and what you are living. By mentally evaluating and judging where you are at with past experiences, you won't get to enjoy all the small things that make where you are special and magical in it's own way.
Same goes for food. Tastes are different everywhere, and if you bring your own expectations, you might be disappointed by what you get, and miss out on an experience. For example, I use to work in a cafe in Ireland where my friend made the best Berber eggs. When traveling to Morocco, I was expecting the same type of dish, which of course was different. Instead of appreciating the uniqueness of this meal prepped for me in the middle of the desert in a nomadic camp, I was stuck in my expectations of condiments and vegetables used. I learned that the best way to stay mindful while traveling, is not to expect anything and let the magic (or not) come to you.
6/ GIVE YOUR PLANS A REST
Any well traveled person will tell you that traveling magic happens with the unplanned. To be truly in the moment, not trying to reach a museum or get to a restaurant you found online, you let chance take care of you. You allow yourself to simply wander, no place in mind, and take in the city. It's in wandering aimlessly that I learn the most about a city. It's also how I found those little back streets in Venice where no one was going and tasted the best coffee in a tiny little cafe.
By simply walking around, following your gut, you enjoy the simplicity of being.
Living in a van has brought us through amazing countries and beautiful cities, but mostly, it has allowed us to live in all these places as locals. And it has been one of our biggest mindfulness lessons.
I hope this will be useful for you on your next trip xx
WE HAVE THE EXTREME CHANCE TO SEE THE WORLD, THE BEST WE CAN DO TO SHOW OUR GRATEFULNESS IS NOT MISS A THING !
I'M LOUISE
Thanks for giving this a read ! I'm a writer, photographer & self proclaimed environmental warrior, excited to share solutions, ideas and recipes to bring sustainability into our lives.
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