Gratitude In Traveling

Traveling has a way of opening up so much possibility into our everyday lives. Whether traveling internationally or domestically, the adventure and embracing the newness of traveling can be a positive experience. Traveling also has a way of allowing us to learn new cultures new ways to do life, while also allowing us to experience other parts of our planet beyond just our town, region, state, or country.

I feel like traveling will enable us to get out of our heads and out of the rat race and hustle-driven society in America. Traveling allows us to reconnect with the more that our country and even what our world has to offer. Therefore, let’s explore how we can express more gratitude and thankfulness with traveling across the globe.

Traveling Teaches Our Children About Culture

One of the most incredible things about traveling and one that I am personally grateful for is that traveling teaches our children more about culture. Traveling with our children throughout the world allows us to teach our children that the world is more extensive than just our area and even our country. It also gives them a chance to get first-hand experience of other cultures around the globe.

For example, my kids are obsessed with a specific brand of tennis shoes. When we traveled to Mexico recently, they had these types of shoes on throughout the trip. The kids learned a valuable lesson in that those shoes are only popular or notable because of their social circle at home, whereas no one we encountered in Mexico knew the brand. This experience allowed my kids to see that other areas of the world can have completely different interests and trends to explore.

Traveling Teaches You Patience

My travels throughout my mountaineering adventures have taught me greater exercises in patience. Especially since most of my trips so far have been all international travel, it teaches you that just arriving there safely, even if it’s not as quickly as you may want, is something to be grateful for as well. In my most recent Antarctica trip, I felt like I lost an entire day traveling from Utah to Atlanta, then from Atlanta to Santiago Chile, and finally arriving in Punta Arenas, Chile, before catching my last flight to the land of ice. Traveling teaches you a level of patience given you cannot fully control the arrival times or the transit path to get there; it forces you to trust beyond your control that you will arrive when you arrive and safely.

My travels mountaineering have also taught me to be grateful that getting the job done is better than getting it done perfectly—so many people in this mountaineering world focus on just needing the rope to get them up that mountain. At the same time, I can find myself sometimes wanting the rope to look a certain way, not shredded looking, or wanting it to look or be a certain way. However, even a slightly shredded or unprettied rope will still get you up the mountain. It reminds me that instead of trying to mold something to be in a perfect image to me doesn’t mean that it not being perfect isn’t ideal in its own right.

Another thought alongside this sentiment is that the oatmeal that I eat out of a mug in a tent on my mountaineering adventure tastes better than when I eat it sitting at my kitchen table. It reminds me that sometimes it’s not the item itself but the environment of what that item is in that makes it more desirable.

Grateful For the Privilege To Travel

I often find myself grateful that I can afford and travel as often as possible. Many people may not be able to travel internationally or even much domestically. I recognize and realize that I have been able to experience some exceptionally beautiful and unique places in the world, most of which I am incredibly grateful to have traveled to them. This also includes all my mountaineering trips, as many people may never have a desire to visit Antarctica. Because of this journey, I am thankful I got to experience such a part of the world many may never see or experience for themselves.

I also find myself grateful that even in discomfort, we can find comfort when traveling. The same can be said about traveling internationally in that how even if our spoken language is different, love and respect for one another speaks volumes in all languages. These allow us to understand the endless options out there that we can always explore, learn, and welcome the new into our lives.