All of the greatest life lessons I have learnt have eventuated from travel. You just can’t learn this stuff in school. Each and every place on earth brings with it a unique opportunity to gain an insight into our amazing world, and also into our amazing selves. I have certainly taken something with me from each place I have visited and by putting them on this blog, I hope to not only relay this wisdom to you but also inspire you to travel far and wide! Each post will include what I learnt about the place, and also what I learnt about myself – my ‘life lesson’.
Valencia was the first stop of my European adventure. I remember experiencing a really odd mix of jet-lag and extremely-eager-overthetop-excitement.
What I learnt about Valencia: The importance of religion. Leaving my hostel the first morning and walking out into the town’s square, I was completely blown away with what I saw: Hundreds of people were lined up at the Cathedral waiting for hours to kiss the feet of a statue of Mary. As I wrote in my journal afterwards – “Religion is SO important here!”.
MY LIFE LESSON: Get lost to find your way. After witnessing the scene at the town square, my travel partner J and I went for a walk. We got lost. Very lost. It was here that I realised how horrendously lacking my sense of direction was! But it was also here, after wandering around with no idea of where I was for 3 hours, that I recognised the incredible advantages of getting lost. While you feel uncertain and perhaps even a bit anxious, you are also overcome with a sense of curiosity and excitement at the unknown literally lying around the corner – and why not approach life like this? Embrace the fact that you don’t know what lies ‘around the corner’ and be excited for the new experiences and even challenges that it could bring!
When getting lost in a foreign country, a feeling of ‘otherness’ almost smacks you in the face – not being able to sufficiently communicate with the people around you while treading on such unfamiliar territories really puts your place in the world in fantastic perspective. Just another reason why I’m telling you nicely to just “get lost”.
How to say “love” in Spanish: amor
xxx
Self-love Sista' 