Are you willing to spend time and money traveling?

Reasoning can many times mislead you but experience never. Traveling exemplifies this principle. Reading and hearing about distant places or forming opinions based on second-hand stories can be misleading. However, experiencing a place first-hand – its culture, people and environment – provides insights that reasoning can never fully grasp. Travel breaks down biases, challenges stereotypes, and broadens your worldview in ways you can’t fully grasp until you’re there. So, if you ask me whether I’d spend my time and money on traveling, my answer would be a wholehearted yes.

There’s so much to discover in this world. As Abraham Lincoln once said, “There are more mines above the Earth’s surface than below it. All nature – the whole world, material, moral, and intellect – is a mine; and in Adam’s day, it was a wholly unexplored mine.” Traveling is one way to explore that vast, untapped potential.

In my view, traveling by foot is the best way to truly experience, learn, and gain insight. I’m always amazed by people who embark on cross-country thru-hikes. They hike for weeks, camp under the stars, meet fellow hikers, and experience nature firsthand. Every day brings both the harshness and beauty of the wilderness. Even when their bodies are exhausted, their eyes are rewarded with breathtaking landscapes, sunrises, and sunsets.

The greatest victory comes when they finally reach their destination—a triumph made sweeter by the journey itself. They carry with them not just memories, but stories of struggles, perseverance, and wonder. For them, the journey is an experience unmatched by anything else in this world.

Thru-hiking has always been on my bucket list, though I’m not quite sure if I’ll ever get the chance to fulfill that dream due to increasing responsibilities and whatnot. For the meantime, camping seems like a good alternative. It does the trick. It still lets me experience nature firsthand, sleeping under the stars, feeling the earth beneath my body, waking up to captivating sunrises – all in a world free from the demanding noise of civilization.

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