We all have our own personal journey, yet I would like to propose that evolving is part of everyone’s path. Going beyond geographical borders is as easy as buying travel tickets, but not everybody is affected by the process in the same way. We don’t all travel for the same reasons and we are not all here for the same reasons. Or are we? Unlike other species, our self awareness, consciousness and a certain sense of being part of something much bigger out there, might prompt us to probe these questions further. To do so, we have to tear ourselves away from a multitude of modern distractions. We are bogged down with modern conveniences, appliances, games and applications, and we have more forms of entertainment than time. We are highly advanced and, at the same time, stagnant. Despite everything we have or have not achieved, we may occasionally become aware that our current environment might not readily allow the type of further individual growth we sometimes crave for. There are many ways of going beyond personal borders, but travelling purposefully is arguably the ideal method.
To travel is to evolve when travelling is consciously used as the vehicle to go beyond personal borders.
To evolve is to always attempt to shift the borders of our own limitations beyond their current borders.
To evolve is to expand our life experiences in order to learn more from life beyond the borders of the conventional.
To evolve is to continue facing our fears and to overcome them beyond the borders of the limitations they have imposed on us.
To evolve is to become autonomous in our thoughts beyond the borders of collective thinking and conditioning.
As an individual, going beyond the borders of what we think is personally possible will shape and enhance the person uniquely on his or her own path.
To travel is to open the mind. The “risk” with opening the mind is that you could possibly open the sluices and temporarily “flood the dam”, because you may have to reconsider treasured reference points. This can initially be quite an unsettling, unnerving, exciting experience. I don’t know about you, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.
Text and photograph by Jean-Jacques Montagnier
© 2008
12 Comments
I agree with every word you’ve wrote. For many people, travelling is a great way to open their minds and to evolve consciously. Of course, not every person in the world realizes that his or her life is a journey. But to those who do realize, the surest way to evolve is to go beyond our borders, both mentally and physically.
Good luck in your life journey!
Andrei, your friend from Russia.
Hello Andrei, it’s a great pleasure to hear your thoughts on this – thank you for your ongoing support!
All the best,
Jean-Jacques
I love this one, J. I especially like the section about going beyond borders. Very nice. 🙂
I’ve used you for my Wise Words Quotes.
http://crows-feet.blogspot.com/2009/01/newsflash-for-december_10.html
Wow, thanks Michelle! 🙂 I always enjoy your NEWSFLASH posts and this one is no exception. This post (Beyond Borders) is based on thoughts I had way back then when I had a Yahoo! group for travellers. (I was still living in London). I’m glad to have managed to develop those ideas a bit further.
What an inspiring words. Travelling is a joy and what I learned from it is foremost that my truth is different from somebody elses truth. WHole new worlds, in many ways, open when you travel. I love your blog. Hope it is ok I add you
Hi Marja! Thanks for visiting. Excellent point about everyone’s truth being different – I agree totally: everyone’s journey is unique.
Of course you can add me and you have a great blog too! Very nice photos of NZ! Will check back soon to read some of your posts.
Traveling used to be my favorite way of bursting through my own boundaries, and I still favor it strongly. But right now, for me, going from the quintessential city life to a organic farm is the path that I see blowing up most of the things I think I know. In many ways I will be the *same me* – but in other critical ones – what I think about, do with my time and in the people I listen to – it will be very, very different. As I say this I realize that this newest adventure of mine is quite a bit like travel, in that it will put me in intimate contact with people and ways of life that I will never find if I continue to call San Francisco “home.”
Hello Hayden
Very well put – thanks for sharing. Yes, there are so many ways of shifting our reference points and breaking from convention. What you are embarking on sounds like a real paradigm shift in terms of how different your new lifestyle will be compared to your old one. Movement and change of any kind is travelling in my mind. Here’s wishing you well on your new journey!
J.J.
Wonderful words, thank you.
A few thoughts….Part of the journey is recognising the borders are illusory.
Opening the mind, as you say is a form of travelling – and I think that innocence, that is to say, a lack of expectation from the mind, will bring one closer to the reality of the experience, and essentially the joy in reclaiming freedom. A simple acceptance of the life within. May I add a link to your site in my new site (sinfieldtrust.blogspot.com)?
Hi Charlotte – very nice thoughts and perfectly expressed – thank you! You’re very welcome to add a link. (I’ve added a link to your blog too)
J.J.
Bro, this is great stuff! I wish I’d found this previously. I’ll look forward to reading more as you write…