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As I walk out of the theater, the bustle of Times Square and the city of New York surrounds me, but I am pleasantly removed from it all as I float along, caught up in my thoughts. Thinking about the play, considering the characters.

I can’t bear the thought of checking my cell phone to see what happened in the intervening time. So I don’t.

I am drawn toward Central Park, so begin meandering north. I feel an urgent need for some beauty and nature – trees & grass & sky. Things that are green and blue. Things that are vibrantly alive.

And standing there in this spot, seeing the NYC skyscrapers yet also seeing the leaves framing it, I know that in a world that feels like it’s gone mad sometimes, maybe art and beauty is all we have?

“Rome is burning, and you want to put on a play?”
“Rome is always burning.”
-‘Indecent’

Indecent, which I saw last week, was the Broadway play that inspired these feelings and musings. While set nearly 100 years ago, it resonated with me on a deep level and felt incredibly applicable to today’s world. It’s not the time to shy away from art, it’s the time to embrace it wholeheartedly.

And in the age of a constant news cycle, it’s so each to become numb and desensitized, with people already spinning the news before the facts have even been reported, theater helps you to feel.

I love experiencing the rush of seeing the world outside with completely different eyes after emerging from live theater, done well. A story that takes you on a journey, and at the end, the actors have laid bare the core of humanity and touched your soul. And you want to extend that moment for as long as possible.

That is the life cycle of watching a play or musical live, and I crave the experience. And writing it all out and thinking about the emotions live theater evokes for me, was when I realized it. The arc of live theater is just like the arc of travel for me. >And I just can’t get enough.

Stages of the Travel Experience

My grandfather always said that there are three stages of travel: the anticipation, the experience of travel itself, and savoring the memories afterward. He was right, of course, although I complicate most things and find a bit more nuance to the arc of the travel experience.

And yes, I’m admittedly a travel addict, but I also can’t get enough of live theater. Or spending days outdoors hiking or rock climbing. What is it that I crave about each of those experiences, travel included?

Planning & Anticipation

Okay, so my grandpa was right about this part, the pre-trip experience is all about the anticipation! Of what you might see or do when you travel. For me, this often involves doing some research in advance. But even if I don’t make it anywhere on my list, just going through that planning process gives me satisfaction. Whether it’s which play to see, where to go hiking, or what travel destination I’ll hit up next, the anticipation is always the first part of the experience for me.

Uncertainty

Of course, no how little or how much advance planning you undertake, life is unpredictable. But this uncertainty, for me, is also part of the emotional journey. Wondering what a new country be like when I arrive, what is around the next bend of the hike, what will the main character of a play do when caught in an impossible choice. Even on the unusual occasion when things do go as planned, you don’t know that it will happen ahead of time, it only becomes apparent when you’re in that moment. Keeping you on your toes, experiencing the world.

Emotions Along the Way

Of course, not every travel experience is wonderful. I’ve heard people often say that it will either be a great experience or a great story. Like possibly my craziest hotel check-in ever in Bulgaria last summer (great story) or the wonderful time I had on my recent visit to Belize (great experience). In the rush of emotions, good or bad, I always feel palpably alive, and try to savor the full range of emotions that I’m experiencing.

A Change in Perspective

For experiences that really touch you, whether seeing a transformative theater performance or taking that life-changing trip, you never quite look at the world in the same way. I like to think that I come out of these experiences with new eyes. Taking a kinder look at a stranger after exposure to a different culture or the opportunity to see the world through another point of view. And I crave whatever experience will shake things up for me!

Reflection

Now to that post-travel step my grandfather always talked about. Looking back and savoring the journey. When I reflect, I find myself wanting to extend those moments just a little bit longer, like I experienced on a recent theater-going day. Whether it is walking for a bit completely disengaged from technology like I did last week in New York, or delaying unpacking when you return home from a big trip because you want the visual reminder of where you’ve been, looking back is a special part of the experience for me as well.

End of the Journey

There is always a sense of catharsis or the satisfaction of having reached the end of a journey, and that moment of calm is part of the emotional cycle that keeps me a travel addict – always coming back for more. It’s a form of meditation, when your mind is naturally blank after a day of physical or emotional exertion, or at the end of a trip. Even if a theater performance provokes unease or I feel more exhaustion than satisfaction for all of those great travel stories, there is still a sense of calm and peacefulness at each experience coming to a close.

Until Next Time

If you’re a travel addict like me, you know what happens next. The moment one journey finishes of course, you’re looking forward to when you get to have the experience all over again! Feeling the emotional highs and lows, pushing yourself to your limits, and getting to the essence of what it means to be alive.

 

There’s no denying that the arc of travel for me is an experience that stretches me to grow in beautiful and unexpected ways. Even when I am not traveling, the drive for those emotions is so strong that I’ve found all sorts of other ways to fulfill that urge. To feel my humanity. To take that journey. To acutely experience being alive.

So that’s when I plan an outing to see live theater. Or go on a hike. Or spend a day rock climbing in a beautiful location.

I’ve been an avid theater-goer for the last 20 years, almost to the day. I’ve been rock climbing for 23 years, and hiking since I was little. Even several decades after I began to do each, I still actively seek out these things. Nourishing my soul. And I travel. A lot.

The truest confession of this travel addict? I am unapologetically hooked.

Do you find the same fulfillment that I do from the experience of travel? And when you’re not on the road, how do you get your “travel fix”? Are you seeking out activities with similar emotional experiences like I seem to be? I’d love to hear your thoughts and insights, share away in the ‘Comments’ below!

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