What traveling should be and should NOT be

Indeed, the world has become smaller. Technology has warped our concept of space and time. Click and we’re connected with people from other continents. Click and we can work even in the wee hours of the morning. Click and we can vicariously live through the pictures and videos of other people living lives far from ours. We can literally explore the world virtually, yet we are always told to travel whenever we can.

Traveling has been more accessible over the decades, yet it has never lost its charms. People travel for different purposes, but it should never be for the purpose of aggravating the comparison game on social media. Traveling should never be solely about tourist spots. Traveling should never be about knick-knacks and souvenirs. Traveling should never be about covering as much area as you can in too short a time.

Traveling should be about knowing and understanding a culture that's different from ours. Traveling should be about finding a common ground between ourselves and the land we find our toes on. Traveling should be about people because our commonalities and differences make places special. Traveling should be about the stories we take with us once we’ve left. Traveling should be about the lessons we have gained.

Traveling should be about getting lost, only to find our way back. Traveling should be about the revelation of what we know, what we don’t know, what we aspire, what we dream about day-in and day-out. Traveling should be about enriching our lives.

They say we should travel because it’s the only thing we buy that makes us richer--this is true because the memories of places visited and people met will stay with us, forever.