“Travel makes one modest. You see what a tiny place you occupy in the world.” -Gustav Flaubert
One of the easiest ways to expand your perspective of the world (and all it beholds) is to expand how much of it you've actually seen and experienced with your own two eyes. With that said, how many of us are limiting our perspectives through lack of foreign travel? What is there to be earned from adding stamps to that little navy blue passport booklet?
From years of working in the public relations and special events industries, I had the opportunity to travel all across the country pretty frequently and was able to see the majority of this beautiful country and acquire a list of domestic "favorite cities". Thus, prior to about five years ago I considered myself to be "well traveled" even though I had only been to one country outside of North America - Canada. Niagara Falls, Canada to be exact, which was a family trip destination when I was about 12 years old. You didn't even need a passport to enter the country back then.
More recently with the social media era emerging and tons of photo/video sharing taking place across platforms like Instagram, Facebook and Snapchat (if you didn't snap it, it didn't happen), I started to see a glimpse of the world that I'd never subjected myself to. As a matter of fact, I hadn't even really thought about doing so that much to be honest. You can't miss what you've never had right? Wrong. I began to have an itch and yearning to see the expansiveness of this beautiful world. Once I did, it was as if I'd opened my eyes to peace, understanding and love - so much love and gratitude for simply being granted the ability to be a small piece of the seemingly infinite world puzzle.
Guanacaste, Costa Rica and most recently Havana, Cuba are just a couple of the incredible places that I've traveled since vowing to take at least one international trip per year. The various rich cultures that you get to step into temporarily, the people you get to meet and observing the circumstances that they are able to thrive happily in really provides the reality check needed to shift your perspective on life. Now every time I come back from a trip, I feel like I've added to my #glowup, not only physically (international tans are thee best), but spiritually and mentally. I feel like I've added to my cup and I'm filling my self up with the things that matter most - unconditional joy, inner peace and immense love for everyone I share this globe with.
So start your soul travel this year and add to your glow up! The benefits of catching more flights include expanding your perspective, making you healthier, enhancing your creativity, relieving stress, boosting happiness and so much more!
-Candace Elena