“A spontaneous road trip with my husband changed my life”, said Lauren Oster in her well-composed account of her road trip, later published by several media sources. There’s a reason the tale of her experience garnered so much attention: modern life has many people searching for themselves, their sense of freedom, and even a renewed sense of purpose.
Many people are both surprised and enthralled to discover that hitting the road, planned or unplanned, can help them rediscover life.
1. Finding Freedom
Though some people prefer a planned adventure and others seek the thrill of the impromptu, both types of road trips have the potential to give you a sense of freedom that you may be longing to feel. Whether you toss a few things in your sedan’s trunk for a weekend or decide to take up residence in a trailer or recreational vehicle for a longer period of travel, the options of where you’ll go are endless.
After daily regimens that are rigid in structure, moving outside of the norm in any capacity can provide relief, with traveling increasing this sense of relief tremendously. Without the usual structure, no deadlines, no chores, you’re left to decide what you want, and to make your own decisions, without any end result or expectation in mind.
2. Trusting Yourself and Others
Aside from being freed from alarm clocks and calendars, taking a road trip also gives you the opportunity to restore your faith in yourself- and humanity. It’s discouraging to hear all the negativity that seems to spread on social media. Interacting with and seeing people directly, however, gives you the chance to see the small, kind things that often go unnoticed, reminding you that the world still has goodness in it.
Moreover, traveling also allows you to rebuild (or strengthen) your self-confidence and faith. Making decisions on the road leads to honing your sense of intuition and instinct, giving you a sense of empowerment in who you are.
3. Discovering Life
Just like seeing the kindness people demonstrate to each other during your travels, driving to a new place will open your eyes to life beyond what you’re used to. New people, new scenery, even new cuisine- all of these things reactivate the senses, allowing us to have an experience that is the very definition of living. Too often, we become accustomed to our surroundings, and we forget to really take things in and experience them.
As a result of day-to-day routines, life can feel numbing at times. Reaching beyond our regular ventures and practices by a simple change in venue can help us go from feeling ordinary to extraordinary.
