We often hear the word vacation right from our friends right? When we do, we naturally imagine someone going to a far away destination, sitting by the beach, reading a book and sipping on some freshly squeezed orange juice. At least that’s what we’ve been made to imagine. Whilst that’s acceptable, and of course maybe in some cases well deserving after a toilsome year, to me the words travelling and vacation mean something different.
Let’s take a moment to focus on this word. The word vacation actually comes from the latin word vacare which means to empty oneself or be free. When you vacate a building, you ensure that no one remains in the building. When you vacate a plane you ensure not a single body remains within that plane. In other words, you are emptying the contents from within.
When we travel, in essence we are vacating ourselves [emptying ourselves] from our daily commitments and routine not just for leisure and pleasure, but most importantly to find ourselves and reconnect with who we really are. See, I believe that when we travel or go on a holiday, we often find joy, excitement, adventure and pleasure, but we forget that through this we have the opportunity to remember who we are.
In the ‘fast paced’ and busy environment which we live in today, we have time for everything except ourselves, despite acknowledging the fact that ‘you are your first priority’. If ‘you’ are not looked after, what chance do you have looking after others?
Travelling gives us a chance to leave aside our daily routine for a while and submerge ourselves into a foreign place, live with foreign people, whilst eating foreign foods amidst foreign surroundings. As a result of this, you can begin to identify who you really are. Not only will you see good characteristics and qualities that you possess, but you will also start seeing flaws. Flaws which may have been difficult to pick out if you were back home. You will begin to see what your temperament is, and also what bad habits you may have, giving you a chance to work on them.
Next time you travel, as well as enjoying yourself, attempt to rediscover who you really are. Check yourself from departure to arrival to see what goodness you possess and what you may need to work on.
Travelling is not only for the joy, adventure and exploring, but also to reconnect with yourself and remember who you really are.
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Muslims Go Travel 