Is it Possible to Travel Without Destroying the World?

There are plenty of blogs online that outline all sorts of green adventures. You can stay in an eco-friendly resort, volunteer at an elephant rescue camp or go WWOOF-ing for some length of time on organic farms all around the world.

All of these sound like marvellous fun. Yet what about bringing it back to the basics? How about if you just want to travel – as anyone does – on holidays, mini-breaks, day-trips, etc. Try to see the world on your own terms, while leaving minimal damage behind.

It is possible to travel without destroying the world? Not really. We’re human beings. We wreak havoc just by existing. Can we minimise our impact on the world around us? Well, duh. All it really takes is a little mindfulness.

I don’t consider myself a “hippy” in a traditional sense. I have been dabbling in yoga off and on for three years and can’t even touch my toes. I believe a life without eggs and cheese, is a life half lived. I definitely consume way more than I should. No one could cast a look around my bedroom in Australia and say that I have embraced a “minimalist lifestyle”.

Yet, I woke up one day and realised I could behave any one of two ways. I could mooch around in a daze, thinking about how we are in the middle of the sixth extinction and wonder what the point of anything actually was. Or I could try to make an effort and be less of a general dick to the environment and those around me.

I chose option B.

The important thing to remember is, one cannot just change overnight. You’re not going to wake up one day and be the purveyor of all knowledge, some sort of green god or goddess.

It starts with a decision, an acknowledgement that it is time to change up the way you live. As with any big goal – weight loss or a career change for example, you don’t get anywhere by envisioning the shining end result. You need to concentrate on the laying of the foundation, day by day, brick by brick.

So. All that being said, let’s move on.

When I first realised it was time to start actively practicing what I mentally preached, I knew I would eventually have to address the way I travelled. I globe trot quite a lot, trying to venture outside of London every two to three weeks. It is a practice that is good for one’s general well-being.

As a result, I have become incredibly lazy with my preparation, to the point where I routinely find myself scrambling to get organised the morning of a trip. This leads to debacles such as over-packing, forgotten items and even having things confiscated by security officers. You would think that repetition would cause improvement overtime. Nope. Defying all odds and common sense, right here.

In the previously outlined interest of starting somewhere small and building up from there, I am going to closely examine what I pack when I go on a trip. I have definitely been guilty in the past of taking an endless amount of items I don’t need, due to my aforementioned complete lack of organisation. I have admitted to being a terrible packer in the past and have subsequently decided that this needs to change.

I am starting from scratch here and I am sure I will make many mistakes along the way. Yet, as #fitspo fanatics world over routinely post on instagram – it’s the journey, not the destination. Although I disagree; as sometimes the destination can be infinitely sweeter.