The Insatiable Taste: I Travel, I Write, I Eat - and I am STILL Hungry for More.
I think having a pure hunger for life is one of the best traits someone can possess. The insatiable ambition to break the daily routine, to explore, to converse, and to experience as many perspectives as possible is a hard hunger to shake. However, balancing the act of digesting all of the information and experiences can be challenging. How must the hunger for life be satiated while still browsing the menu for even more?
Anthony Bourdain. The man, the myth, the legend. He is known for traveling the world in a refreshing way, seeking out opportunities to experience different corners of the world as locals do. To be unafraid to explore the unpaved path through recommendations from strangers, to get lost, and to embrace the unknown. An advocate of travel that many (and I) personally look up to. Even years later, his words continue to resurface as a reminder of what meaningful travel can look like.
You may have heard this quote:
"If I'm an advocate for anything, it's to move. As far as you can, as much as you can. Across the ocean, or simply across the river. The extent to which you can walk in someone else's shoes or at least eat their food, it's a plus for everybody.
Open your mind, get up off the couch, move."
Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations.
Maybe it's because I'm in my twenties. Maybe it's because it's highlighted across everyone's social media feeds, the topic of conversations, and the focus of countless ads. But I feel like everyone in my circle has this unquenchable thirst to travel. Which is great… the World is meant to be explored. Yet, there's something unsettling about the gluttony surrounding it. Somewhere along the way, the pursuit of seeing the world has shifted into the pursuit of seeing more of it. More countries. More passport stamps. More photo dumps. More checklists. We consume destinations as quickly as they're recommended to us, rarely allowing ourselves the time to truly digest the places we've already been.
I especially have been keen to this new awareness within myself - the sense of not totally being where my feet are, so to speak. It's a hard pill to swallow, admitting to myself that wanting more out of life doesn't necessarily mean a life intentionally lived. Especially when it comes to the gift and privilege of travel.
Somewhere along the way, I began catching myself thinking more about where I wanted to go next rather than fully absorbing where I already was. The anticipation of the next destination slowly became louder than the appreciation of the present one. It made me wonder if I was truly experiencing these places, or simply consuming them. Because if travel is a privilege, then perhaps the greatest privilege isn't seeing as much of the World as possible, but allowing yourself to be fully present in the corner of the World you're already standing in.
There is this other quote that Anthony has wrote:
"Maybe that's enlightenment enough: to know that there is no final resting place of the mind; no moment of smug clarity. Perhaps wisdom…is realizing how small I am, and unwise, and how far I have yet to go.”
Be where your feet are. Treat the World, your surroundings, and yourself with humility. Travel not with the intention of consuming every place you can, but with the intention of allowing each place to change you. There will always be another country to visit, another flight to book, another recommendation to save for later. The World is not going anywhere. Your presence, however, is fleeting.
Perhaps the greatest souvenir we can bring home isn't another passport stamp or another roll of film, but a quieter mind, a softened heart, and the humility and humbleness to know that we will never be as vast as the World at hand. And that is why exploring with intention is a practice - one that must be returned to again and again.
All my love,
Brejette Nepa