What if “travel” had nothing to do with location?

Think of travel as a state of mind.

Like happy or sad. Or free or stuck.

Friends are traveling around Europe in a camper for the past 11 months and will probably keep going. The more we talked about travel and place and people and adventure and life, the less the place mattered and the more the mindset mattered.

When you’re traveling, and no, a week at the Hilton doesn’t count, there is a certain glow about you that emanates from your body and attracts like-minded travel-spirited people. They’re not too concerned with time or place (which can be challenging when you have responsibilities like kids, homework, and basketball practice), the past is made up of fond memories of people they’ve met along the way and the future is just, well, out there. They’ll get there.

But what matters most to them is where they are right then and there.

I am oh-so-aware that this rings of Carpe Diem, but Carpe Diem wasn’t invented in a day (that’s a little word play joke). It’s been around since the beginning of days, I suppose. Well, maybe Carpe Diem was invented on Day 2 of the existence of the world when the first people said, “Wait. What did we do yesterday?”

Do you ever notice how certain topics tend to rise to the top of your awareness? If you have odd habits like Writing Every Single Day, you may realize that, although they may be slightly camouflaged in a few flowery new spins of phrase, the core elements keep rising to the top. You might call them The Cream of the crop, maybe The Cream of the soup.

What does travel mean to you? Is it that weekend at the beach? Complete with sunsets and a froo-froo cocktail with an umbrella? Could it be as simple as a walk around a different block in your neighborhood and starting up a conversation with a neighbor you had never before seen? Or does it have to be the dinner in Paris with the view of the Eiffel Tower?

I’ve been to, I really don’t know, maybe over 50 countries and have lived outside of my native country for nine years of my life. It’s become less of a question of where I am on the map and more of where I am in my mindset.

Where are you going today?