Solo-Travels ..

I have done a lot of trips travelling alone. Most of the times, because the situation demanded and sometimes out of choice. At end of all those travels, the most frequent question I encountered was " How can I travel alone? If I were you I could never do that". But as mentioned earlier, most of the times, the situation demanded that I travel alone (you always have those friends who desert you in last minute), so I better enjoy and learn from it than keep cribbing. Though enjoyment is something which I cannot quantify, So I like to note down a few learnings from the solo-travels:

 

1. You trust your self more than you usually do. If you have to drive for six hours, you need to trust yourself that you will not sleep behind that steering. If you have to make a choice on where to stop on way, you trust your decision making capabilities.

2. You start trusting strangers: In one of these travels, I was feeling quite bored and needed company. I gave a ride to a hitch-hiker. On way I got to know that he had something very pressing to attend and was thankful for the ride. When I picked him up, I had no clue on who he was and what harm he can cause to me. But just went along trusting him and felt happy. The other time I had to leave my baggage with a waiter, and though I was initially scared, I had to do it but never regretted for it.

3. Introspection makes you understand your self: In a busy mechanical city life, we do not get time to introspect. Most of the solo trips give ample time for this.

4. Enough time for serious musings: Every once in a while, we need time for some serious musings on careers, life paths, relationships, finances. The long trips help giving ample time for them.

5. Make better aware of surroundings: Without someone to care or discuss, we become better aware of the surroundings. We have our antenna up for scares, threats, humor and romance.

 

And finally for catching up with friends on phone: Those old friends whom I was supposed to call, but never got time for that phone call in my busy life. Your solo-trip, will give those coveted hours to call all those buddies.

 

Now after marriage, I do not know how many more solo-trips I will do, but definitely want to go whenever my heart feels.

Gaining Wisdom ..

In my view there are only four ways one can gain wisdom:

 

1. Live by the age: Grey hair indicates that a person has lived his life through different ages, situations, ups and downs. Living by the age will anyways make someone definitely wise

2. Travel far and wide: Travelling shakes one from his/her comfort zone. One is exposed to new situations, uncertainties, fears, cultures, thinking. Also one learns to trust one self more, trust strangers, understand unsaid rules, open eyes to new processes, mind-set, views. These make one think out of box, open to understanding the innate drivers, tolerant towards different cultures/people and provision for newness. With this one is bound to become wise (even without living the age).

3. Talking to different people: Talking to different people again opens our mind to diff mind-set, alternate thinking, make us tolerant to different ways of conducting things and helps us understand humanness in a different way. (without travelling or living by the age)

4. Reading more: I will sum this with one statement, a punchline from crossword book-store chain.. " You do not open a book, you open your mind."

 

In my view the last one surpasses all other forms because it comes with least limitations. One can buy/borrow a book at a economical price unlike where one needs to spend a lot for travelling. Similarly one need to not live by the age to gain wisdom nor one needs to have the luxury of time to talk with a lot of people.