Inward Travel
I’ve been thinking about what it means to be a traveler during a period in which travel is not just ill-advised, but also less possible.
To be clear: travel is a very bad idea during a pandemic if you can avoid it. Not only is it risky for you, it’s risky for everyone you come into contact with. And even if you feel fine, and are willing to take the associated risks, yourself, there’s a chance that you’re asymptomatic but still contagious, or that you’re carrying contagious bits of material on your clothes, in your luggage, and so on.
You’re not just protecting yourself by not traveling, then: you’re protecting everyone around you.
As such, I’ve been hunkering down with family in Missouri, and plan to continue doing so until these travel-related risks have significantly diminished.
There will be a time to get back out into the world and embrace the delights and frictions of travel once more—and to bring much-needed funds to locals living in places that now lack their usual and necessary inflow of revenue from elsewhere—but now is not that time.
Instead, I’ve been trying to focus on the first-principles benefits of travel, and how I can achieve similar outcomes through other behaviors and activities.
It’s not possible to get the full experience of travel without actually traveling, but it is possible to expand one’s horizons, learn and grow and expose oneself to novelty, and to consistently challenge oneself in a positive, growth-oriented way.
I’ve focused on this same ambition before, and during those previous geographically static periods I’ve tried to think of my day-to-day as a journey inward: travel within myself.
The last time I changed my focus in this way, I learned to read music and play the piano, started up a podcast, wrote a couple of books, got back into running, learned to cook and bake bread (before it was quarantine-cool!), recalibrated my self-employed business model, and doubled-down on giving talks professionally (leading to a year-long speaking tour I undertook, soon after).
I also met a lot of interesting people, online and offline, resulting in some fulfilling new friendships, read a bazillion (or so) books, played (and enjoyed) some mainstream video games for the first time in a decade, adjusted my eating habits (for the better), intentionally took some time away from dating to focus on myself (a valuable investment), and watched a bunch of critically acclaimed films I’d never seen but had been meaning to watch for years.
None of these undertakings are directly comparable to travel. But they are, all of them, adventures of a kind. They’re all difficult and sometimes stressful or scary in different ways, and all have the potential to increase the three-dimensionality and range of one’s perspective.
We’ve all got different lifestyles, different responsibilities, different limitations and advantages; different wants and hopes and needs.
When we travel, then—if we choose to travel in the first place—we’ll have distinct approaches, goals, and outcomes.
The same is true if we choose to journey inward: to challenge ourselves and seek valuable frictions, regardless of what shape they might take.
If you enjoyed this essay, consider supporting my work by buying me a coffee.
A photo I took out the window of a train, while rumbling through Northern California.
Updates
This week on Brain Lenses, I published an essay about Allostatic Load and a podcast episode about Conventions.
This week’s episode of Let’s Know Things is about Plastic-Eating Enzymes.
And though both projects are free and available to everyone, folks who support either of these projects monetarily receive bonus episodes & essays each month :)
Community
I’d like to try something a little different this week.
I’ve set up a forum where you can post whatever you like, but each week I’ll publish a prompt that we can all use as an excuse to engage and share and learn from each other.
Here’s a link to the forum: NeverNotCurious.com/forum
This week’s prompt is to share a photo of your view—out your window, your desk, the bench where you eat lunch each day—and to give a quick little explanation of what we’re looking at, if you care to, along with where you’re located around the world.
I’d love for this forum to become a place where folks can share resources and experiences about whatever, and I may at some point pull highlights from it and feature them in the newsletter, as well.
I’m playing this by ear, though, so consider popping over to participate, let me know if you have any ideas as to what else might be useful/interesting, community-wise, and we’ll see where it goes.
Also: as always, feel free to send me an email and tell me how things are going, what you’ve been up to, or if you just want to say hi to a stranger from the internet.
Interesting & Useful
Some neat things worth checking out:
This Meme Does Not Exist(AI meme-generator)
Where Are All The Bob Ross Paintings?(mini-documentary)
Live Camera Feeds of Time Square & the Surrounding Area(video)
One-Take Video Tour Around the Russian Hermitage Museum(video)
Live Camera Feeds of Natural Locations Around the World(videos)
Citizen DJ(very fun & interesting project)
A view of New York City from inside the Empire State Building.
Outro
I’ve fallen into a bit of rhythm, defined by my production/publishing schedule, my various self-educational endeavors, and my biological routines: eat, work out, sleep, repeat.
I’m very keen to get back out into the world, but I’m trying to remind myself that sometimes the best, most direct way to move forward is to remain calm and stay put for a spell, letting the storm clouds pass before trekking out into the world once more.
Have any predictions as to what will happen next? What’ve you and your friends/family been discussing, and how have you been spending your time? Pick up any new hobbies you think are worth sharing?
I respond to every email I receive, so shoot me a message and tell me about what’s on your mind, including if you just need someone to talk to. It’s a weird time for everyone, and if you’re not feeling great, that’s normal and okay. You’re not alone.
You can also say hello via Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, or using location-appropriate fonts.
If you’re finding some value in what I’m doing here, consider supporting my work by becoming a patron of my writing, buying a book, or becoming a supporter of Let’s Know Things or Brain Lenses. You can also buy me a coffee if that’s more your thing.
This free, online course about the human mind and well-being is interesting / quite relevant right now.