{"id":30382,"date":"2022-07-15T22:40:00","date_gmt":"2022-07-15T22:40:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/?p=30382"},"modified":"2022-07-18T02:57:35","modified_gmt":"2022-07-18T02:57:35","slug":"itching-to-get-away-this-summer-remember-the-six-stages-of-transformative-travel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/itching-to-get-away-this-summer-remember-the-six-stages-of-transformative-travel\/","title":{"rendered":"Itching to get away this summer? Remember the six stages of transformative travel"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Jaco J. Hamman<\/a>, Vanderbilt Divinity School<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In June 2022, I set off on a 10,650-mile, six-week motorcycle trip from Tennessee to Alaska and back again, carrying not too much more than my GPS and phone. The ride kick-started a year of travel for research \u2013 and despite the horror stories<\/a> of delayed and canceled flights, I couldn\u2019t be happier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Just about everywhere I went, even in remote parts of the Yukon and British Columbia, folks were traveling. Many of the trailers being pulled were brand-new, suggesting the owners had bought them recently. After yet another cooped-up pandemic winter, it seems people\u2019s appetite to get away is just as keen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But why do we travel in the first place? What is the allure of the open road?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a professor of religion, psychology and culture<\/a>, I study experiences that lie at the intersection of all three. And in my research on travel<\/a>, I\u2019m struck by its unsolvable paradoxes: Many of us seek to get away in order to be present; we speed to destinations in order to slow down; we may care about the environment but still leave carbon footprints.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ultimately, many people hope to return transformed. Travel is often viewed<\/a> as what anthropologists call a \u201crite of passage<\/a>\u201d: structured rituals in which individuals separate themselves from their familiar surroundings, undergo change and return rejuvenated or \u201creborn.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But travelers are not just concerned with themselves. The desire to explore may be a defining human trait, as I argue in my latest book<\/a>, \u201cJust Traveling: God, Leaving Home, and a Spirituality for the Road<\/a>.\u201d The ability to do it, however, is a privilege that can come at a cost<\/a> to host communities. Increasingly, the tourism industry and scholars alike are interested in ethical travel<\/a>, which minimizes visitors\u2019 harm on the places and people they encounter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The media inundate tourists with advice and enticements about where to travel and what to do there. But in order to meet the deeper goals of transformative, ethical travel, the \u201cwhy\u201d and \u201chow\u201d demand deeper discernment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During my book research, I studied travel stories in sacred scriptures and researched findings from psychologists, sociologists, ethicists, economists and tourism scholars. I argue that meaningful travel is best understood not as a three-stage rite but as a six-phase practice, based on core human experiences. These phases can repeat and overlap within the same journey, just as adventures twist and turn.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"About
Tourists sit on public benches in Dharmsala, India, June 17, 2022. AP Photo\/Ashwini Bhatia<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

1. Anticipating<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Traveling begins long before departure, as we research and plan. But anticipation is more than logistics. The Dutch aptly call it \u201cvoorpret\u201d: literally, the pleasure before<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How and what people anticipate in any given situation has the power to shape their experience, for better or worse \u2013 even when it comes to prejudice. Psychology experiments, for example, have shown that when children anticipate greater cooperation between groups<\/a>, it can reduce their bias in favor of their own group.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But phenomenology<\/a>, a branch of philosophy that studies human experience and consciousness, emphasizes that anticipation is also \u201cempty<\/a>\u201d: our conscious intentions and expectations of what\u2019s to come could be fulfilled or dashed by a future moment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With that in mind, travelers should try to remain open to uncertainty and even disappointment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Leaving<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Leaving can awaken deep emotions that are tied to our earliest experiences of separation. The attachment styles psychologists study in infants, which shape how secure people feel in their relationships, continue to shape us as adults<\/a>. These experiences can also affect how comfortable people feel exploring new experiences<\/a> and leaving home, which can affect how they travel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some travelers leave with excitement, while others experience hesitation or guilt<\/a> before the relief and excitement of departure. Mindfulness about the stages of travel can help people manage anxiety<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. Surrendering<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Travelers cannot control their journey: A flight is canceled, or a vehicle breaks down; the weather report predicts sunshine, but it rains for days on end. To some extent, they have to surrender to the unknown.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Modern Western cultures tend to see \u201csurrendering\u201d as something negative \u2013 as hoisting a white flag. But as a therapeutic concept<\/a>, surrendering helps people let go of inhibiting habits, discover a sense of wholeness and experience togetherness<\/a> with others. The perfectionist learns that a changed itinerary doesn\u2019t mean a diminished travel experience and lets go of the fear of failure. The person with a strong sense of independence grows in vulnerability when receiving care from strangers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In fact, some psychological theories hold that the self longs for surrender, in the sense of liberation: letting down its defensive barriers and finding freedom<\/a> from attempts to control one\u2019s surroundings. Embracing that view can help travelers cope with the reality that things may not go according to plan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

4. Meeting<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Meeting, traveling\u2019s fourth phase, is the invitation to discover oneself and others anew.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All cultures have unconscious \u201crules of recognition<\/a>,\u201d their own ingrained customs and ways of thinking, making it more difficult to forge cross-cultural connections. Carrying conscious and unconscious stereotypes<\/a>, travelers may see some people and places as uneducated, dangerous, poor or sexual<\/a>, while hosts may see travelers as rich, ignorant and exploitable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Going beyond such stereotypes requires that travelers be mindful of behaviors that can add tension to their interactions \u2013 knowing conversational topics to avoid, for example, or following local dress codes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In many parts of the world, those challenges are intensified by the legacy of colonization<\/a>, which makes it harder for people to meet in authentic ways. Colonial views still influence Western perceptions of nonwhite groups as exotic<\/a>, dangerous<\/a> and inferior.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Starting to overcome these barriers demands an attitude known as cultural humility<\/a>, which is deeper than \u201ccultural competence\u201d \u2013 simply knowing about a different culture. Cultural humility helps travelers ask questions like, \u201cI don\u2019t know,\u201d \u201cPlease help me understand\u201d or \u201cHow should I \u2026?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A
Tourists walk in downtown Rome on June 20, 2022. AP Photo\/Andrew Medichini<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

5. Caring<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Caring involves overcoming \u201cprivileged irresponsibility<\/a>\u201d: when a traveler does not recognize their own privilege and take responsibility for it, or does not recognize other people\u2019s lack of privilege.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[3 media outlets, 1 religion newsletter.<\/em> Get stories from The Conversation, AP and RNS.<\/a>]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Travel becomes irresponsible when tourists ignore injustices and inequities they witness or the way their travels contribute to the unfolding climate crisis<\/a>. Ethically, \u201cempathy\u201d is not enough; travelers must pursue solidarity, as an act of \u201ccaring with<\/a>.\u201d That might mean hiring local guides, eating in family-owned restaurants and being mindful of the resources like food and water that they use.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

6. Returning<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Travels do end, and returning home can be a disorienting experience<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Coming back can cause reverse culture shock<\/a> if travelers struggle to readjust. But that shock can diminish as travelers share their experiences with others, stay connected to the places they visited, deepen their knowledge<\/a> about the place and culture, anticipate a possible return trip or get involved in causes that they discovered on their trip.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I believe that reflecting on these six phases can invite the kind of mindfulness needed for transformative, ethical travel. And amid a pandemic<\/a>, the need for thoughtful travel that prioritizes host communities\u2019 well-being is clear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is an updated version of an article originally published on Sept. 28, 2021<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jaco J. Hamman<\/a>, Professor of Religion, Psychology, and Culture, Vanderbilt Divinity School<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This article is republished from The Conversation<\/a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Jaco J. Hamman, Vanderbilt Divinity School In June 2022, I set off on a 10,650-mile, six-week motorcycle trip from Tennessee to Alaska and back again, carrying not too much more than my GPS and phone. The ride kick-started a year of travel for research \u2013 and despite the horror stories of delayed and canceled flights, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":44,"featured_media":30383,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[2450,9],"tags":[8837,12158,12157,196,6430,228,8158,4271,12156,8836,8920,492,5560,16],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30382"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/44"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30382"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30382\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":30406,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30382\/revisions\/30406"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/30383"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30382"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30382"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30382"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}