How to Travel More Mindfully
Travel more mindfully with Sara Clemence’s book: Away & Aware. Become a more deliberate traveler by setting your intention and decluttering your headspace.
This short read is more like a guidebook to be kept on hand, and re-read. The illustrations are soothing and alluring. Sara Clemence—a former travel editor for The Wall Street Journal, and former news director at Travel + Leisure—offers advice with sensitivity.
For example, packing strategically! “Pack only for the things you will do, not the things you might do.” Think about versatility with similar color schemes, and opportunities to layer and save space.
Even before the trip and in the planning stage, Clemence suggests “tapering off”. Prioritize your lists of projects to have finished before leaving. Eliminate “brainless browsing” a few days before departure. Stop sleeping with your phone right next to your head! We are all so guilty.
All of this lends to a more mindful travel experience.
While you’re on the trip, embrace JOMO (The Joy of Missing Out)! Clemence explains that this will be hard. You might have to put restrictions on yourself. It’s okay to feel uncomfortable at first, she says. “Consider the power of saying no to endless doses of affirmations or competition.”
How scary does it sound not to use all of our technology to navigate new places?
We at Wanderlust Table are really evaluating our habits! What if we weren’t obsessively researching the most coveted place to eat on obscure blogs? What if we didn’t use our smartphones every few minutes to check on the blue dot’s location.
Set your intention. Try using paper and pen as often as possible. Ask for directions! Lean into your jet lag? These suggestions are as comforting as they are scary, somehow. But, we love them.
