The Powers Of Travel, According To The Tao Of The Traveler

The Traveler’s Tao is a compendium of wisdom in which an analogy is made between life and travel. In fact, life is assumed to be a constant journey. It also talks about the powers of travel, that is, about all the potentialities that emerge when we decide to move forward both in life and on the road.

The Tao of the Traveler says that a traveler is wise  when he never forgets that he is passing through, that all he finds is a temporary loan and, therefore, nothing belongs to him. The journey of life and the trips we make in it are worthwhile when they allow us to develop those powers that we have hidden and that emerge more than ever when we go to another place.

The powers of travel, according to the Tao of the traveler , are eight. Each of them represents a step forward in our evolution as human beings. If you think about it, those powers are manifested more than ever when we take a suitcase and go somewhere else. Let’s see.

1. The power to pack the past

When we pack we are taking a part of our life to carry it to another place. We make a selection and what we choose has a lot to do with who we are. The more we need to carry, the more clinging to what we leave behind and less ready to open up to something new. The most experienced travelers carry little.

2. Power to tolerate in the traveler’s Tao

Travel, like life, always brings surprises. Sometimes they are good and sometimes disturbing. No matter how well we plan things, there will always be something that gets out of control. More than in any other circumstance, when traveling we develop the power of tolerance to those changes  that invite us to be flexible .

3. Power to adapt

One of the powers of travel is adaptation. Changing circumstances and environment forces us to readjust our way of living, eating, locating ourselves and even speaking and behaving. Adaptability is a huge virtue that helps us live more fully. Traveling we build and nurture that wonderful ability.

4. Discern, another of the powers of travel

One of the most important powers of travel is that it always involves a significant number of choices and decisions, from where we are going to how long the journey will take, how we are going to dress or where we are going to sleep. All those travel decisions, small and large, increase our capacity for discernment .

5. Power to judge according to the Tao of the traveler

Going to a place that we do not know or are not so familiar with involves forming a set of judgments about what we find along the way. We discover other ways of being and thinking  that can significantly contrast with what we are and think.

As we encounter the different, we broaden the mind. One of the powers of travel is, therefore, the enrichment of judgment and judgment.

6. Power to cope

The traveler’s tao says that every path has rocks and that every traveler carries some shadow within him. It is one thing to face the difficulties in our current habitat and quite another to do it in a context that is alien to us.

Likewise, many ‘shadows’ within us only emerge when we distance ourselves from what is familiar to us. A trip always invites us to look more directly at fears in the face.

7. Power to cooperate in the traveler’s tao

A trip always implies cooperation. If you travel with someone or in a group, interaction is more important than in everyday life. The obstacles along the way are shared, as well as the shortcomings and the fruits.

When you travel alone that cooperation manifests itself in all its splendor. You are alone, but you always have to turn to others to advance, even if they are strangers. You discover that humanity is bound by an indestructible bond.

8. Power to withdraw or introspection

This is one of the most beautiful powers of the trip. Every journey through the world is also a journey towards yourself. Sometimes we have to get away from the everyday to get closer to ourselves. Sometimes we have to get lost in order to find ourselves. Or we have to stray from the path to find the true path.

In short, the trip reminds us that everything in life is transitory and that the most important thing is not to get to a place, but to enjoy each step.