#001: Travel with Inner Peace: A Stoic Perspective

Have you ever asked yourself why you travel? I often pose this question to fellow travelers I meet: "What are you running from?" When offered with honesty, the answers usually reveal that many of us are trying to escape something in our lives or searching for something we haven't found. We might be fleeing unfulfilling relationships, family drama, recent breakups, or even something deeper and more personal. Sometimes, we're just trying to escape lousy weather. Whether we admit it or not, many of us do not from a place of fullness.

Don't get me wrong; I love traveling. I travel to explore the world and meet new people; you probably do too. But deep down, many of us travel because we're trying to fill a void within our souls. As Socrates wisely observed, "Why do you wonder that traveling does not help you, seeing that you always take yourself with you?" The truth is, as Bob Marley sings in Running Away, “You can't run away from yourself.

Think about it. You've arrived in a new place. The first three days are exciting; you're having the time of your life. Then, reality strikes, and you fall back into old habits, old thinking patterns, old problems. As the Stoic philosopher Seneca wrote, "It is no matter what manners we find anywhere; so long as we carry our own."

In his essay 'On a Happy Life,' Seneca goes further: "He that cannot live happily anywhere will live happily nowhere." He continues, "What is a man better for traveling as if his cares could not find him wherever he goes?... No more does the change of place work upon our disordered minds than upon our bodies." Often, we believe that travel is the solution to our problems. But it isn't. Does it make sense to wander the world, claiming we're nomads when we're actually running away from our problems? No.

Modern research supports this idea. According to studies in the field of psychology, geographical self-shift - the act of moving or traveling to escape personal issues - rarely works in the long run. For example, as stated in a study by the Journal of Travel Research, travel provides a temporary escape, but personal issues often resurface, requiring more sustainable coping strategies.

On the other hand, neither should we hide away in our basements and avoid people altogether. Travel can be a fantastic way to combine working on yourself and building up your practice of virtue and wisdom.

How can we become someone who can live happily anywhere? Seneca suggests, "He that will make his travels delightful must make himself a temperate companion." This means investing time in the study of wisdom and virtues. Working on yourself and building a mindset to become a person unaffected by external factors, whose happiness comes solely from within, can help combat everyday struggles like loneliness, isolation, adapting to change, work-life balance, and uncertainty.

Ask yourself, are you a temperate companion? Are you the best travel buddy for yourself? Do you wish to make your travels delightful? Adopting a Stoic mindset of resilience, mindfulness, and inner peace can address these challenges and create a fulfilling and meaningful life anywhere.

If you want to enrich your travels and enhance your life, this newsletter is for you. I share my meditations and methods for dealing with the world as I build my Stoic practice, aiming to live the "good life" while traveling the globe. I aspire to help others do the same. Don't just plan your next adventure; plan for a better mindset. Subscribe today and embark on a journey towards a more fulfilling life, no matter where you are.

That's it for today. Until next week, stay curious, stay mindful.

See you on the road.