Finding Peace On The Road Through Meditation
Long term travel can certainly feel chaotic at times. In fact, any amount of travel might overwhelm you with how much new stimulus you have swirling around. Foreign languages, confusing maps, babies crying on your flight, buses in India that run really, really late….
There’s no shortage of patience-testing experiences that occur when we travel. But if you’ve ever traveled long term- you know that with great freedom, comes some other stressors. Finding peace in the uncertainty can be a challenge. And you might feel less confident in your choice to forgo the 9 to 5 lifestyle when you see your friends getting married or buying their first home. You might travel to countries where you don’t have access to the comforts you’re used to back home. (Been there done that! Ever use a squat hole in Indonesia? It’s a toilet that… you guessed it… is just a dirt hole in the ground.) Even constantly packing and unpacking a suitcase can cause a person to go a little crazy from time to time.
Just 15 Minutes Of Meditation A Day
This is where meditation comes in. Not only will a couple minutes a day ground you for hours to come, it can help you really appreciate the travel experience you’re having. Instead of letting your mind race with “oh I need to get back to the hotel before dinner because XYZ” you can sit back and appreciate, “Wow, I am watching the sunset in Africa. I want to enjoy this moment in all it’s glory without a noisy, cluttered mind.”
One of the reasons I love travel so much is how it constantly presents new experiences. These naturally push me into a more present state. I easily and often find myself in that state of “flow”. My mind feeling untroubled by past or future and I am simply existing in a free and happy state, fully in the present. But I recognize that we don’t need to travel to find that place within our minds. (Although it certainly makes it easier! I’d like to think of travel as the cherry on top to already existing in a relax, content and satisfied state of mind.)
Start With Guided Meditation Practices on YouTube
This video is a personal favorite of mine. Even if I can’t keep my mind clear through the entirety of it, by the end of those 15 minutes I can feel the effect it’s had on my body and mind. Give it a try!
It’s a practice, not a punishment so don’t beat yourself up!
Try to think of meditation as a practice, not a punishment. It’s not something you’re forcing yourself to do because “oh-my-gosh-I’m-the-worst-I-can-never-focus-I-suck.” It’s a practice that you won’t be perfect at but that’s okay 🙂 The mind is muscle and takes some strengthening. If you’re anything like me, you’ll get all comfy and relaxed then about 5 seconds in, start making a grocery list in your mind. Just gently clear your thoughts, no judgement or need for self-resentment and come back to the practice.
Let me tell you, as someone who isn’t very good at meditation and generally tends to have a very scattered mind- even 15 minutes of imperfect meditation does wonders for your day.
Mindfulness can make your travel experiences much more meaningful.
When you get home from a trip, the last thing you want is to feel like you didn’t fully appreciate that sunrise over the ocean, that baby giraffe you saw wandering the plains or the whale sharks swimming by because your mind was elsewhere- focused on some irrelevant future worry or past event you can’t change.
A Journey Into Mindfulness
Books for Mindfulness & Meditation
The book that first snapped my brain out of it’s noisy, cluttered state was The Power of NOW by Eckhart Toelle. Sitting on the top deck of a small sailing ship in Indonesia, this book changed my life. Sailing in the middle of the ocean, nothing but the sky above me- I devoured this book. I got chills and felt the hair on my neck raise when I read certain passages. Once you read this book, it’s impossible to not feel a detachment to the ego and more awareness to the present moment.
“Realize deeply that the present moment is all you have. Make the NOW the primary focus of your life.”
― Eckhart Tolle
Eckhart Tolle has a second book as well that helps us stop obsessing over what happened in the past and what the future might be. Chapter by chapter, it helps us to appreciate the only moment we are guaranteed: the present one. Both are available on Amazon.
Have you tried meditating while traveling?
Let me know your best resources or tips!
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