While packing for a relatively long trip to Europe that will involve conferences, research visits, visits with family and sightseeing, I catch myself trying to bring along everything that would enable me to replicate my everyday activities. Of course, the very fact that I am going to be doing many things that do not happen at home will ensure that my daily routine will change drastically, which is a good thing.
It is curious, though, that the mindset is relatively slow to adapt to the change in environment. In fact, this naturally-occurring change of the mindset is one of the main benefits of travelling, according to Rolf Potts’ “Vagabonding.” Potts says that an important factor in facilitating the transition into the travel mode is limiting the amount of information consumed in familiar, day-to-day ways (e.g. email, social media, etc.) A vivid image of what can happen otherwise is a tourist sitting in a street-side cafe, checking her Facebook feed, as if she has never left her living room.
I suppose, the key concept to avoiding this pitfall is presence. Needless to say, cultivating it is not easy, and like any worthwhile skill, it requires a lot of practice.
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