There’s something subtly beautiful in the art of traveling alone. You’re not really alone at all – you’re simply willing to reach out and cultivate new, unused avenues of human connection. And it’s easier than you think.
When you’re traveling alone, you suddenly realize that there are thousands of people that will inevitably become a part of your story. The bartender at the local pub, the quiet girl in your hostel, or even the gruff old man taking tickets for the ferry have already written themselves into the narrative of your travels – all you need to do is keep reading.
In these moments where we’re looking into one another’s eyes, across cultural and experiential boundaries, we discover a deep and irrevocable bond beyond what we’re able to find in the predictability of daily life. Our willingness to defer judgement and find our own likeness reflected in the life of another person triumphs over petty differences, language or skin color. It’s an immediate, authentic attachment.
You don’t have to travel far to be traveling alone. Globetrotting isn’t an option for the majority of the human population – and that’s okay. It’s not the destination of your travels, but the mentality that you adopt when traveling. Appreciation, understanding and patience forge pathways for life-changing experiences, no matter how far you are from home.
We were all born with an innate desire to be loved, and oftentimes we overlook the obvious when searching for a source of comfort. The brief, honest exchange that can occur with a stranger is strikingly similar to experiencing unrelenting, unconditional love. When people we’ve never met open their hearts, their minds and even their homes to us, we see that humanity is still what permanently binds us together.
I haven’t been traveling alone for very long, but already I’ve been met with such unimaginable kindness and I’ve found that, for every moment of heart-wrenching, deplorable human interaction there is someone else that is willing to write you a page in their book.
Whenever you feel lonely, don’t worry. You’re not traveling alone.
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