What Being Away From Home Can Do for You
Over coffee one day last month, I was thinking about what being away from home can do for you.
I love to travel. At this point, I think of travel as both a love and a hobby. I enjoy new continents, countries, and new cities, different foods, unfamiliar streets, interesting conversations, museums, cafés, train rides, and simply seeing how other people live.
Travel gives me something uniquely different to look forward to, and I genuinely enjoy the experience. I traveled a lot while in the military, and since retiring, I've been going nonstop! Plane. Train. Automobile.
At the same time, there really is no place like home.
Home is my happy place, even when there is a “things to do” list waiting for me. There may be mail to go through, groceries to buy, lawn care that needs attention, appointments on the calendar, a speaking engagement to prepare for, a workshop to facilitate, a live radio show to plan or host, or a reentry matter that needs my attention. Still, none of that changes the feeling I have when I walk back through my own door.
I am one of those people who likes to leave home in order. I do not leave laundry waiting or the house untidy before a trip. I want to come back to a clean, peaceful space because, after being away, there is something especially good about returning without immediately having to do any...thing.
And then there is the fragrance of home.
I notice it every day when I walk in, and I notice it even more after traveling. It is a beautiful, calming, soothing, fresh fragrance. (I'm a candles and oils girl....and it's a daily ritual). Before I have unpacked a suitcase, checked the mail, or looked at whatever needs attention, I have already been greeted by something that feels familiar, welcoming, beautiful, and comforting.
There is comfort in your own bed, your own kitchen, your own chair, your own coffee cup, and the familiar rhythm of your space. I can enjoy being away for weeks and still look forward to coming home.
Maybe that is one of the things travel does for us. It gives us contrast. When we are home every day, we can stop noticing the little things that make home feel good. Familiarity can make comfort almost invisible. We move through our routines without giving much thought to the spaces we have created, the people we enjoy, or the small conveniences that make life easier. Then we leave for a while, and suddenly we notice those things again.
Being away also gives us a different perspective on the life we return to. At home, there is usually something waiting for us. There is an email to answer, a meeting to prepare for, a decision to make, a project that needs attention, or someone who needs something. We can sit down without ever really settling down because part of our mind is still working through what needs to happen next.
Travel interrupts that rhythm in a good way. It does not make responsibilities disappear, but it creates enough distance for us to see them differently--if we are open to it.
Sometimes a problem that felt enormous at home becomes smaller when we are looking at it from somewhere else. A decision can become clearer. A routine we have accepted without thinking about it can suddenly look different when we are no longer standing inside of it.
I have also learned to pay attention to what I miss when I am away. I miss home, certain people, my own bed, my routines, and the ease of knowing where everything is and how everything works.
But there is another question that can be just as revealing. What do I not miss?
Maybe I do not miss constant urgency. Maybe I do not miss being so accessible to every demand. Maybe there are responsibilities or expectations that take up more of my attention than I realize when I am home.
Distance can reveal that too.
One of the things I enjoy most about travel is having space to let my mind wander. I can sit in a café, walk through an unfamiliar neighborhood, browse through a store, or look out of a train or plane window and find myself thinking about things and ideas in a fresh way.
I may find myself wondering whether I am enjoying my life or simply managing it. I may think about my level of gratitude. Am I grateful for all Almighty God is?
Sometimes I notice how other people arrange their days and wonder whether there is something I can learn from that.
Travel has a way of reminding me that there is more than one way to live, more than one way to structure a day, and more than one way to decide what deserves my attention.
Then comes one of my favorite parts of traveling, and that is coming home. The house is clean. Everything is where I left it. And there is the pleasure of being back.
I think that is one of the beautiful things about loving travel and loving home at the same time. I do not travel because I am trying to get away from my life. I travel because I enjoy seeing more of life.
Then I come home and appreciate my own life all over again. There really is no place like home.
What do you think? Have you had some time to really think lately? Drop me a comment!
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