Hello friends, Happy Tuesday. Happy Transformation Tuesday. Welcome to the Exploration Hour. I host this space weekday mornings where we dive into quotes, ideas, moments together to connect and explore these things and what they mean to us. This space is a collaborative one, which means, if you have thoughts, ideas, or things to add or share with all of us here, you are welcome to. This is called the exploration Hour because I give this space an hour to explore. Sometimes we go under time, sometimes we go over time, but this hour is ours to connect. If that sounds like a space you want to be a part of, give me a follow and we will explore this hour together.
So today, Tuesday, Transformation Tuesday. Transformation Tuesday is a popular hashtag on social media. Transformation is such a positive, future-driven word. When I hear transformation, I think of butterflies, make overs, and being a boy-mom-- even those transformer toys-- and what always sticks with me is the positive possibility of transformation. We can transform into a beautiful butterfly, or a even race car, or change at any moment-- which is so exhilarating and exciting to envision. The thing is, transformation is often uncomfortable, and in order to transform, we often have to get to that part of us that many of us actively avoid and and every chance we get: discomfort. We cannot change or transform as long as we're comfortable. And often we gete so stuck in the lovely feeling of being cozy or comfortable, we take away the ability and drive for beautiful transformations ahead.
This week, we're talking about travel. I just got back from a vacation and we started this conversation yesterday where we really dove into the idea of perspective, change, and letting go of the expected. There is something about the complete immersion of travel that requires you to let go of the known, lean into discomfort, and then-- take those beautiful steps towards transformation. We learn so much while traveling, whether it's that you like a certain food, or that you can walk 10k steps a day, or that that market down the street has the nicest lady who then became a long distance friend.
So today's quote is by the immeasurable Freya Stark. Freya was a British-Italian explorer and travel writer who spoke several languages, and wrote over two dozen books on her travels throughout the middle east and other distant countries, mostly in the Orient in a time when it was forbidden for Westerners to travel and explore there. Her openness to explore other cultures and give a detailed, personal account of her adventures as a woman especially, really paved the way for understanding and cultivating perspective and even respect towards other distant cultures at the time. Here is her quote on travel and adventure:
“To awaken quite alone in a strange town is one of the most pleasant sensations in the world. You are surrounded by adventure.”
Freya Stark
And this quote is perfect in the sense that it explores this idea of adventure opposed to fear. You see when we lean into the idea of transformation as an adventure, rather than the scary unknown, we are open to what the world can give us, opposed to what we can control. There is nothing like being in a new town, not knowing, that opens up your senses to all that can be. Oftentimes when I coach people, and they go away on a vacation, or have a trip, the come back--different. Their environment has changed, the food they ate was different, maybe their sleeping pattens were shifted, or they had more sunshine or activity. This is exactly the moment of transformation for many of them. This is the time, when they return to keep what they loved and found helpful, beautiful, and wonderful to integrate that into their changed perspectives.
So today-- I want to ask you: how has travel transformed you? Changed your perspective, allowed you to grow? What has letting go of the familiar done for your transformation into where you are today?
To transform is to change, recreate ourselves inwardly, and even give the opportunity to change and influence our environment around us too. Transformation isn't just about what we take from the world around us, it is about what we have to give back as well. So the next time you feel stagnant, you feel down, or lacking purpose, ask yourself, what ways can I kickstart the transformation within?
I'm Coach Kate-- you've been a part of our Exploration Hour today on NoomVibe. If you liked what you heard, give me a follow. Follow our other contributors and feel free to dive in to more content on this app as you go too. You can find more of my talks underneath the talk tab in my profile. If reading is more your jam, feel free to subscribe to my newsletter linked in my bio-- it has a text version of this show e-mailed out the day of broadcasting, right into your e-mail inbox.
Thank you for listening today, I'll be back tomorrow at the same time to continue our travels and talks!
