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Let Go with Travel
We all have things we want to let go of.
Whether it’s unlearning an attachment style we exhibit in relationships, letting go of old goals to make room for new ones, or letting go of anger towards daily frustrations like a traffic jam—learning to let go is a life skill that can help us feel more peaceful.
Travel can be a means to learn many things.
We can learn about new cultures and traditions.
We might test our physical limits on a strenuous hike through treacherous terrain.
I often like to write about how solo travel can change our perspective on ourselves and our world.
Today I’m going to talk about how travel can help us learn to let go by freeing up the space in our brains for new memories and ideas.
Let Yourself Let Go
I’d like to point out an obvious caveat to the power of travel in this context.
Traveling won’t magically bless you with the mental strength to let go of whatever is weighing you down, BUT if you travel with the right mindset it can help train your mind to let go more frequently and more often.
I’ll start with a basic example.
When you’re traveling, you’re likely taking many buses, trains, etc. more frequently than you would be back home.
The first time you are delayed in transit, you might find yourself cursing and frustrated.
By the time it’s your tenth bus, you’ll probably be used to making sure you have a good book to read or music loaded to your playlists to keep you sane during your commute. Or if you’re like me, you’ve just stopped caring about delays.
In this sense, travel has helped you let go of what is beyond your control—it’s taught you to let go and find peace with the situation in front of you.
An Emotional Example of Letting Go
I didn’t show up today to share a story about learning to succumb to the pains of public transport.
I want to share the nitty gritty of what it means to let go of emotions and feelings that drag us down.
Admittedly, it’s a never ending process, and sometimes it’s messy.
But thanks to nature and new friends, and taking the opportunity to spend time alone in my thoughts—a unique opportunity that travel blessed me with—I was able to take big steps towards letting go.
Today I’m bringing you to the north coast of Spain—a place I hold very dear in my heart—during a time when I started to truly let go of the person I thought I was supposed to be.
The mountains here aren’t the highest in the world. People might argue that the beaches aren’t the most stunning on the planet, or that the little towns aren’t the most picturesque.
For me though, Asturias is perfection. It’s something in the air: the cool breeze from the ocean, the warm sun rays, and the diverse green plants and grasses that stretch across the coast.
Locals offer warm greetings when I cross their paths along the narrow stone streets. I had never planned to travel to Spain until Lucas suggested it, and finding Rob’s Workaway post and coming to Asturias was a coincidence.
Now that I’m here, I can’t imagine being anywhere else at this moment.
Caves and crevices within the gray cliff faces create perfect little nooks for sandy beaches. I eat a peanut butter sandwich and an apple on the shore, my toes dug into the sand, while I read a book.
Later, I walk up to the far point of one cape, where I find a tiny old church. Looking west is an endless row of gray cliffs that drop vertically into the blue waves.
Further inland are the grassy hills where cattle graze. Behind these fields are the sharper Picos that tower over the hills. I shut my eyelids like they are the shutters of a camera. I want a photographic memory of this place forever.
I find another beach within the cliffs to sit and read until evening.
After the sun sets, I wander back along the trail to the house where I’m staying in town. Just as I’m about to veer off the dirt road that led to the beach, I notice a for sale sign outside a small house. Some force inside me compels me to take a picture of the house and send it to my parents.
I’d love to move here, I write to them. Beside the beach and surrounded by mountains.
It sure beats my suburban neighborhood in Toronto.
I can’t afford to buy a house right now, and I don’t particularly want to settle down since I have a ticket to Thailand. But if I do ever settle somewhere permanently, I want it to be a place where I feel as alive and blissful as I do in Asturias.
Sending this picture and telling my parents I’d like to be somewhere other than back home in Toronto is a small step toward being honest. I’m showing myself and the world that there’s a little fire of courage igniting inside me, yearning to do what’s right for me.
Want more of the story?
You can get the full book here!
Solo travel is a great way to spark personal growth.
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