The Art of Traveling: Therapy With a View

I have a love-hate relationship with traveling. There, I said it. I also have a multiple personality reaction to traveling. Whew, there’s another one off my chest. Before you start thinking that I’m literally crazy, let me explain.

Traveling pushes all my buttons – good and bad. At its worst, traveling does a tap-dancing number on my anxiety. The actual traveling part of traveling is essentially a huffing and puffing game of rushing to pack, rushing to get to the airport, rushing to make that flight…rushing, rushing, rushing. Then there’s the insecurity part of it. You’re away from home, outside of your comfort zone, in unfamiliar surroundings, and no longer within arm’s reach of something you may need that you unfortunately forgot to bring. It’s an anxiety meltdown.

That’s the very reason that, time and time again, the first couple of days of the vacation trip are particularly edgy for me. I recognize my anxious insecurities, my penchant for PTSD. It’s getting better, but I’m still working on it.

And yet, as I grow older, I want to travel more. Why? Because the physical and emotional benefits of traveling are quite immense. There is so much psychological and intellectual enrichment from visiting another state, another country, another population, and another group of people that don’t live exactly the way you do. I come away with a deeper understanding of me and my life. That comparison factor, stacking up your comforts against those of complete strangers, gives me invaluable perspective. I always arrive back home from a vacation with a sense of reflection and appreciation.

We recently returned from a Hawaiian cruise. We spent a good couple of days in each of the four main islands – Oahu, the Big Island, Kauai, and Maui. The plane ride to get to Honolulu was about 9 hours, which immediately brought home the utter remoteness of the paradise we call Hawaii. Now when they toss off the phrase “the mainland,” I know exactly what they mean. There is a huge separation and disconnect from the rest of the United States. That’s at once exhilarating and terrifying. It’s also amazing perspective. It frames your own existence with such clarity.

What has this epic vacation done for us? Well, aside from it being the longest vacation we’ve ever taken (even the Alaskan cruise in 2015 wasn’t as long!), it has ignited a burgeoning passion for traveling. I know, that sounds like a contradiction given everything I’ve just detailed about my topsy-turvy affair with traveling. At 57, I have realized that not only is life too short to spend it all in an eventless comfort zone, but traveling is the ultimate book-come-to-life experience. An avid reader here, so this is an automatic fascination.

Steve and I are already booked for a Panama Canal cruise in early 2023. We will get to experience the marvel that is the Panama Canal, as well as visit Grand Turk, Turks & Caicos, Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic, St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands, Willemstad, Curacao, Oranjestad, Aruba, Puerto Limon, Costa Rica, and Panama City, Panama. We are excited!

This will be our third cruise. We learned a few things after the first one that we applied to the second one. We learned a few things after the second one that we are applying to this one. For instance, balcony cabins are a must! Believe me, they are worth every extra penny. Oh, and pack everything you think you will need then double it. What seems easily accessible to you at home may be a rare extravagance somewhere else.

Yet here’s what’s truly important – traveling helps me understand me. It helps me dissect my insecurities and my PTSD. It helps me control my anxiety. It helps me see beyond the microcosm that is my world. That’s what I call therapy with a view.