How travel changes you

My country is the world and my religion is to do good. ~Thomas Paine

Each time I travel, I bring something home with me. Not photographs, not souvenirs, not even the memories—although I treasure those too. What I really bring back is something quieter: a small shift in how I see the world. Sometimes it’s a tiny realization, sometimes it’s something big. Either way, it begins shaping me long before I can even put it into words, and I find another little piece of myself without knowing.

My parents took my brothers and me traveling when we were young, and some of those early moments are still vivid in my mind. I remember watching the sun melt behind the pyramids in Egypt, the sky turning colors I didn’t know existed. I remember the tangled seaweed along the shores of Prince Edward's Island, the smell of olive trees drifting through the Delphi valley in Greece, and the quiet, cathedral-like stillness of Muir Woods in Northern California. Even as a kid, I had the sense that these moments were special. Not because I was special—but because stepping into someone else’s corner of the world felt like being let in on a beautiful secret.

Travel always felt a bit like walking through the wardrobe into Narnia. Suddenly there were new sounds, new rhythms, new languages to stumble through with curiosity and laughter. There were foods I couldn’t pronounce but happily devoured, streets that told stories without saying a word, and people whose lives looked different from mine but felt surprisingly familiar. Somewhere along the way, my imagination stretched wider, my heart made connections in faraway places, and wanderlust quietly took root.

That sense of wonder hasn’t faded as I’ve gotten older. If anything, it’s grown stronger. Every trip still leaves me with a few new truths—little souvenirs of perspective that somehow make the world feel both bigger and simpler at the same time. And now, as an adult, I understand how big of a privilege it is to be able to travel and that's only heightened the lessons. Over the years, travel has gently taught me things like this:

1. Love is love.No matter where you go in the world, people want the same things at heart—to be loved, to be treated with kindness, to feel respected, to belong. Languages may differ, traditions may change, but the desire for connection is universal.

2. History isn’t just something you read—it’s something you feel.It lives in family recipes passed through generations, in celebrations that bring entire villages together, in the rhythm and poetry of a language. History is alive. It’s breathed in, tasted, walked through.

3. Beautiful lives exist everywhere.Across the world, people build joyful, meaningful lives without broadcasting them or chasing titles. They create communities, laughter-filled dinners, and deep friendships. Often the richest lives are the quietest ones.

4. Less really can be more.So many people live happily with the essentials: good food, clean water, shelter, family close by, and friendships that feel like family. Beyond that, much of what we chase is just extra noise.

5. You’re not the center of the universe—and that’s a relief.Travel has a wonderful way of shrinking your worries to a manageable size. The world is vast, full of stories unfolding everywhere at once. When you step into that bigger picture, you realize your problems are real—but they’re rarely as overwhelming as they once seemed.

And maybe that’s the real magic of travel. You return home with the same suitcase, but somehow a slightly bigger heart, a wider lens on the world, and the quiet sense that there is always more to discover.

Consider joining me this coming November 5-15 in Morocco, as I explore the world and find myself.