1, by Jonathan Yagel

Share this post

1, #45 - Does travel make us better people?

jwby.substack.com

Discover more from 1, by Jonathan Yagel

The single best insight I found last week, in 1 minute or less.
Continue reading
Sign in

1, #45 - Does travel make us better people?

On the work we can do from home — Estimated Read Time: 58 seconds.

Sep 6, 2023
Share this post

1, #45 - Does travel make us better people?

jwby.substack.com
Share
airplane under cloudy sky during daytime
Photo by Eduardo Velazco Guart

Travel is often celebrated as not only enjoyable, but virtuous. See, for example, Mark Twain’s claim that “Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness.” This week, though, I read an article claiming that modern travel (where we are tourists, despite our insistence to the contrary) is a means of personal validation rather than personal transformation.

Do you agree?

On the one hand, travel can be like art: a shock to the system that breaks you out of your default mode of thinking.

On the other hand: As much as I love travel—I’ve built my life around it, in many ways—I don’t think it’s inherently beneficial. Unfortunately, as with most things: The advantages require work. And in our modern society, I don’t know that the benefits historically associated with travel are best acquired through a trip.

So, yes, it makes sense to travel to reset mentally, or to escape the daily grind, or simply because you enjoy it: whether it’s seeing beautiful new locations, trying new food, or (it’s okay to admit it) validating your identity to yourself or others. But going somewhere else won’t automatically make you a better person. If you want to understand a different perspective, to connect with someone with a dramatically different life experience from you, or to appreciate our shared humanity despite cultural differences … a new, exotic locale might just be a distraction.

Can you start doing that difficult work from home?


Insight inspired by: Kai Brach and this edition of his newsletter, Dense Discovery. He quotes extensively from this New Yorker article… but I like Kai’s take better.

Share this post

1, #45 - Does travel make us better people?

jwby.substack.com
Share
Previous
Next
Comments
Top
New
Community

No posts

Ready for more?

© 2023 Jonathan Yagel
Privacy ∙ Terms ∙ Collection notice
Start WritingGet the app
Substack is the home for great writing