How Traveling Will Teach You Appreciation

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There are many things traveling has taught me, but one of its most important lessons is appreciation.

We tend to so easily forget the daily luxuries we have in our lives. Clean clothes, a shower, food, water, the internet, a bed, a safe place to live … simple luxuries that surround us every day.

Precisely because they surround us every day, we tend to forget them all too quickly. They are part of the standard scheme of things, part of our lives.

It’s only when we lose what we had, that we truly come to appreciate it.

It is through traveling that I learned that.

On my journeys backpacking around the world, I’ve gotten myself into quite a few situations where I came to truly understand how lucky I should call myself for having those daily luxuries.

Knowing and realizing that many people in the world are not fortunate enough to have them.

While backpacking in Australia, I took part in a warrior program – or in other words, an extreme survival training program.

For eight days, I had no shower, no toothbrush, no internet, no phone, no bed, no fresh clothes.

I only had the basics: a limited supply of food, some water and a shelter I made myself.

When I had finished the program, I can vividly remember sitting on the train that would take me back into civilization.

Dirty as hell I sat there just holding and looking at my phone.

It felt so strange and unusual; I just looked at it for several minutes entirely amazed to be carrying a phone. It was a funny feeling.

It was odd to text my friends to tell them that I was still alive; it was funny to receive a message back, and it was equally amusing to see everyone else on the train on their phones – entirely not amazed.

I think no one was thinking or even understanding how lucky we should feel that we can communicate so quickly with the whole world.

When I was in the hostel later that day, finally under the shower, I started laughing. It felt amazing to feel the warm water, it felt terrific to brush my teeth afterward, and it felt amazing to put on new and freshly washed clothes.

I was incredibly grateful for the food I cooked – spaghetti with no sauce.

I enjoyed every single bite and was filled with simple, pure and unadulterated gratitude for being able to eat it. When I finally lay in my bed, I thought, we should all lose these daily luxuries for a short time.

To be reminded. To be reminded that we shouldn’t complain as much, but appreciate more what we do have in life.

We aren’t taught by our parents or in school or the jobs we have that precious lesson. None of them give us one of the most important lessons that anyone can learn in this life: sincere appreciation for what we have.

Traveling, however, teaches us this very well. Each time I travel, I lose something for a while and learn to appreciate it at a much deeper level once I get it back again.

From freezing in my tent in the German Alps; having no clean clothes for ten days in Hawaii; hitchhiking through all manner of countries; not having food for one full day during a 4-day hike in New Zealand; hearing someone gets shot in South Africa; … and countless other moments.

We need these moments in life.

It’s extremely good and healthy to be put into these situations, where we are forced to deal with it. It’s terrific and healthy to travel for many many reasons, but appreciation is a big one.

It is far too easy to become wrapped up in our daily lives again, and our little luxuries that we take for granted, as soon as we have them back. We need to remind ourselves those times when we lived without them. Tell yourself the story of how you did it or, best of all – venture out there in the world again. Travel.

Question about this article: How do you feel traveling has increased your appreciation? Are there any specific events or moments that lead you to realize this?