I know how travel writing is supposed to work. Someone with wanderlust or an assignment goes to a place foreign to them (domestic or international), processes what they saw, and then transcribes their new view of themselves or the world or both.
This is not that kind of travel post.
I want to tell you about where I have never been.
Up until a year or so ago, my new Valhalla wasn’t on my radar. I couldn’t have shown you where it hides on a map. I’m not sure I really found it more than it found me; and I can’t tell you if it was Google, Pinterest, or Instagram that introduced me to the day dreams.
What I can tell you is that I’ve spent weeks’ worth of evenings and mealtimes researching and planning a trip unlike any other I’ve ever made. I keep finding more options, more adventures, more possibilities for wonder.
The capstone of the ten-day excursion will be three days of exploring the Bugaboos, a dramatic mountain range in the Purcell Mountains of eastern British Columbia, Canada.
I’ll be trying new experiences like climbing a mountain by via ferrata, camping in an airport, and using a helicopter for daily transportation. I joined the Alpine Club of Canada for access to another first for me: spending the night in a mountain hut (this one, to be exact). I had never previously joined any outdoor club.
With these new adventures will be familiar ones like canyoneering, cable car riding, tent camping, canoeing, high-altitude hiking, and lodging in hostels. The itinerary intentionally carves space for both solitude and extroversion. Turns out, I need both for a rejuvenating journey.
I’ll also have my laptop. Like my writing sabbaticals to Vancouver and Cape Town, I plan to come home with months’ worth of pre-written blog posts. While writing is work for me, it’s that good kind of effort: the craft in which you can both lose yourself and find yourself.
Is it dangerous to invest so much hope and so many expectations on one trip? Maybe.
I’ve never traveled to another country and been underwhelmed. Maybe I haven’t traveled enough. I take curiosity and introspection with me everywhere, and both find something magical for me to bring home. Maybe it’s confirmation bias. If so, I’m gratefully ignorant.
So, why tell you all of this?
Inspiration fights stress.
In one of the most important leadership conference talks I’ve ever watched, Wayne Cordeiro explains how he recovered from a nervous breakdown. One of several takeaways was the principle of planning your week, season, or year around the things that energize you—so that you are physically and emotionally prepared for stressful times.
This strategy allows you to spend your vacations doing things that make you come alive, rather than just sleeping somewhere more expensive than home. The anticipation powers you through the weeks of slog, and the reminiscing keeps your stress-fighting serotonin levels high after the trip.
So, I tell you about this trip to encourage you to find what fills your energy and passion bucket, to spend time researching how you can chase that with the budget and free time you have. You might be able to replenish your soul without full-on vacations and on a more regular basis.
Inspiration turns work into fundraising.
I like my job, but there are several aspects of it that I absolutely dislike. So, I need help sometimes to stay engaged and determined.
Attorney and international adventurer, Bob Goff, calls his daily work “fundraising” for his “capers.” I’ve embraced that mindset, especially on my Monday mornings and late Friday evenings in the office. I make photos of my next destination the wallpaper on my monitors; I keep a vacation folder in the rack with my work project folders. Small things like that act as triggers to lean into my to-do list.
According to James Hamblin’s article in The Atlantic, researchers are proving scientifically what we should already know: that experiences are more valuable than possessions—at least emotionally and relationally. I’m finding that to be true, and I’m saying “no” to what used to be regular purchases in my life to divert money to this experience. I’m also more motivated in and dedicated to my time in the gym to prepare for this trip. My vacations inspire me to put in some extra effort, and your vacations have the potential to do the same.
Inspiration is contagious.
What restores my soul probably looks a lot different than what recharges your batteries.
Maybe exploring historic sites or architectural tours flip your switch.
Maybe music festivals get you amped.
Maybe exclusive restaurants or fine wineries top your bucket list.
Maybe roller coasters or road trips are your speed.
Maybe social justice missions or religious tourism ignites your pilot light.
Maybe it’s not the destination but the writing, painting, or photography that brings you to life.
Or maybe it’s just sharing any destination with certain people or a special someone.
It’s exciting to meet people with passion. We can all enjoy conversations about what inspires each other, and we should. That requires that we each act on those passions, that we create those stories, that we pursue our dreams.
That’s what I’m doing this summer, and I would love to hear what you’re doing this summer in the comment section below. Let’s wow and entertain one another. Let’s grow with each other. Let’s inspire our world to a better place!
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Photographs linked to their sources.
