Author: nl4018a

A Foreign Mind

Being foreign in a country can be exhilarating because of how different the perception of a new country is to foreigners versus how it actually is to those who have lived there their whole lives. While experiencing foreignness in traveling you will also feel scared and curious of this new place, which will motivate you to go around all the new corners of this mysterious place that lies in your mind. 

“This is the point of the foreign. We don’t travel halfway across the world to find the same things we could have seen at home. Those who undertake long and dangerous journeys have every incentive in stressing their discovery of a world far better than the one they left behind.” -Pico Iyer

Because of Iyers experiences throughout his years, he now feels a foreign in any country he steps a foot in. This can be a scary thought for many because of the fact that you won’t belong to a specific group of individuals, but instead foreignness is something we should all try to achieve. If we think about it everyone’s mind and experiences are foreign to the rest of the world, no matter where you stand. 

“It’s a blessing to be a foreigner everywhere, detached and able to see the fun in things.” -Iyer 

For many, traveling is considered a hobby, or even a personality trait. Some travel for pleasure and others for work, but it is undeniable that by doing both you gain some knowledge of something new you didn’t know before. Personality changes while visiting a place you have never been before, you open your mind to new experiences and get to look at new cultures and places with a new and refreshed set of eyes.

“Abroad is the place where we stay up late, follow impulse and find ourselves as wide open as when we are in love. We live without a past or future, for a moment at least, and are ourselves up for grabs and open to interpretation. We even may become mysterious — to others, at first, and sometimes to ourselves” -Pico Iyer

These characteristics that we see present in the act of travelling are very similar to characteristics in the romantic era. Romanticism makes an emphasis on individuality and personal freedom, these characteristics are some of the reasons many travel. Personally when I travel I enjoy spending time by myself, getting to know and trying to fully understand myself. According to romantics we experience the sublime when we are out in nature, in other words out in the unknown. Every time you get the luxury to travel to a new country or area you get to experience the sublime aspect of discovering, in other words pursuit of knowledge. 

Like Pico Iyer stated in his TED Talk,

 “In the end, perhaps, being human is much more important than being fully in the know.” 

Traveling is made to dive into uncertainty and fear in order to discover this new knowledge. Because maybe it’s fine to not know everything, and as we get to live we will understand the sublime of discovering new things.