travel
Travel doesn't have to be disruptive to our rhythms and practice.
While travel has been infamous for ruining rhythms and halting routine, a look inside a traveller can reveal how this cycle could be transformed:
Most fundamentally, entering a new environment changes our perception of our work and our self.
I'm keen on a clear distinction between travel and sabbatical. I want to relegate sabbatical to broadly encompass any trip with its sole purpose being rest. Travel, for my purposes, assumes work and rhythm remain alongside any rest given by the trip.
Disorientation is the norm on trips and vacations. We are struck with new living spaces, public places, and scenery within which to build a week or weekend of routines and work habits.
Our work becomes the thing in the way of travel and our self becomes a thing in need of rest, family, or friends.
But what if we could see a new way forward between our work and the rest we desperately need? What if we could travel without upsetting our lifestyle so we require days to readjust to normal life? Wouldn't this mean that travel could become part of our normal life...
Consider work: we can augment our practice with insightful parts of travel. If creative in nature, your work can be informed and grown by exposure to parts unseen or people untapped. If your home rhythm is unique, implementing fresh sparks of motivation can unlock new levels of enjoyment and benefit from it. Even a creative new room to do work can jumpstart our flow with the excitement of an added whiteboard or special chair.
What happens too often in travel is the turning off of our "serving" self (serving your audience, serving your story, serving the work). We turn instead to receiving and thinking of our travel as a time for ourselves (this is where the "work in the way of travel" mindset begins).
If we always become people "in need" when we travel, our trips will always disrupt our lives.
When we recognize our abundance when we travel, we intentionally pour out the right amounts of work and continue our commitment to a lifestyle.
What did you notice today? ///