Randomly ask a person what he/she likes the most, and they’ll tell you that traveling is certainly one, if not the only liking they have. Why not too? Traveling lets you see more of the world and broadens your horizon. You can see people living their lives with a completely different set of values from yours and still be thriving in life. You get to know yourself better in the process, which is imperative to living a life that’s true to you.
Given how vast the world is, people will normally tell you that they want to travel the whole world and see fascinating landmarks, conquer difficult terrains, and enjoy breath-taking views from the best places the world has to offer. A backpack across Europe, rendezvous with the pyramids in Egypt, and a front-view of the Eiffel Tower spring to mind from amongst the countless travel destinations people from all over the world flock to.
And so, when I was recently asked about where I’d like to visit, it made me contemplate. For someone like me who introspects a lot, it wasn’t going to be a straight-forward answer. From amongst the countless options at my disposal, if I had to choose one place I’d like to move or visit, then it’d be my own memories of the beautiful experiences I have captured through the lens of my mind.
We are the Instagram generation that wants to capture every bit of our experiences through our phones so that we can show it to the world. But while doing that, we forget to actually live the moment. We are probably more focused on which filter to use and the captions to go along, than to fully experience the here and now. Each moment is fleeting and while scampering to adjust the lenses in our phones, we ignore the lenses of our brains and lose sight of the ephemeral present moment.
I’m guilty of not having paid enough attention to the present moment. I wish to be more mindful of it in the given days so that I can travel in my mind whenever I have the chance. The future is uncertain and the world too vast. Who knows if I can make it to all those alluring tourist destinations in the future? Good on me if I can, but with an ever depleting wallet and a weak passport, chances are pretty dismal. But with the right amount of mindfulness, I can definitely make the most of any traveling I do (however grand or ignoble) in the course of my life journey.
And with an imaginative and creative effort, I will probably be able to travel in my mind to places I will have never been to, too!
The Mindful Nepali 
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