You can call me old fashioned, or a dying breed of millennial, but it still won’t alter the conviction I have in my travel style: digitally disconnected. The poet Rumi said, “Where ever you stand, be the soul of that place.” And while some of his other famous words speak more directly to the wonder of travel, this quote resonates best for me. When you connect to and find the soul of a place, you’ll make that place a part of who you are, and from then on, it will travel along with you no matter where you go. You won’t need a photo to remember the feeling you had climbing across the narrow bridges of Sagrada Familia, or the sensation that poured across your tongue the first time you tasted the wine in South Africa. You’ll just close your eyes and feel the moments instead. No trinket or tchotchke can take you back to that first glance of the Eiffel Tower as you climbed the steps from the Metro station, or caught sight of the milky caverns of the Sydney Opera House. To relive these experiences, you first have to live them. And to live them, you have to be present. Presence is your souvenir.
I first realized this when I moved to Edinburgh, Scotland in 2013. I was on a six month assignment for work, and in my fervent hard-headedness, decided against purchasing a burner phone. Instead, I decided to lug around my iPhone 4 (yes, even then it was already outdated), which meant I could only connect to the digital world when I found Wi-Fi.
Did I get lost without Google maps? Often. Did I eventually find my way? Always.
Disconnecting from the digital world forced me to connect in-person. I asked locals for directions, and while I was at it, I asked for recommendations. What was the best place to try the local wine? What did I need to see that I couldn’t read in a guidebook? Those conversations became the inspiration for many of my travel blogs, and shaped the way I continue to see the world today.
Because I wasn't busy being notified about a celebrity break-up, getting pulled into a friend’s recent spat, or obsessing over the number of likes on a status update, I discovered so much more about myself, simply by being aware and paying attention. I tuned in and became sensitive to the places and people with stories needing to be told. I also learned how to tune out the external noise and listen to my intuition. Combining these two skills taught me how to find inspiration, foster my creativity, and hone my skills as a writer.
I was reminded of this during my recent visit to Portland, Oregon. A request to go hiking was made, and a subsequent two hour car journey took us to Vista Ridge Trail. I had expected to navigate hills of evergreen and catch a glimpse of Mount Hood’s glacier-capped peak. What I didn’t expect was to pick my way through 6,300 acres of torched forest. We traversed an area that had been struck by lightning five years prior, igniting what’s now known as the Dollar Lake fire. As we made our way through this graveyard of trees, I was overrun with emotions: sadness, humility, appreciation, wonder. I couldn’t believe my eyes. Hundreds of thousands of burnt black and dying white trees towered above us, while many more laid in shreds at our feet. Atmospheric fog rolled through, and the forest would have been completely void of color if it hadn’t been for the purple phlox-like flowers blanketing the ground. Black, white, purple, green — and once the fog lifted — blue, for as far as my eyes could see.
Due to the elevation and our distance from town, I didn’t have any cell service. Although my mind whined with witty captions and hashtags, it would have to wait. In their place, my imagination churned. I felt called to know this place’s story, and tell it — not instantly, but with purpose.
If I’d been caught up texting, tweeting, snapping, or filtering that moment, I’d have missed it. I would have missed the opportunity to lay my hand flat against that hollow, ashen tree and feel sorry for its demise. I would have missed the opportunity to share this story with you.
When you’re aware of what’s going on on the outside, you can be aware of what’s going on inside of you, too. You don’t need money or good fortune to find your perfect souvenir; you won’t ever need to haggle. Your awareness is already the best of presence.