Exploring X: How Better Travel Can Lead to a Better Life
By Dr. Michael Bennett | Co-Founder @ Explorer X
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Travel’s Triumphant Comeback
As we begin to emerge from a world without travel, we each have a choice to make.
We can succumb to the overwhelm and flat-out exhaustion we’re experiencing as a result of living through a pandemic.
Or we can choose to live.
At Explorer X, we believe that the inner journey is equally important to the outer journey. Our journey over the last six months was a long and rugged one, as we planned, reflected, paused, and reorganized, all under the shadow of uncertainty. We never questioned whether travel would return, but it was an all-consuming question of WHEN.
So as travel begins its triumphant comeback, we’re ready to reimagine how we inspire and engage with our travel community.
That doesn’t mean we’re going forward business as usual. More than ever, we’re recommitting to the values that have been present since long before we booked our first trip.
Travel allows us to reimagine what’s possible.
Mindful, slow travel offers a unique gift: The chance to engage with new people, new ideas, and new perspectives.
When we first launched Explorer X, we sat down as a team and shared about our most powerful travel experiences. We found one thing in common: Each of the experiences that stuck with us and essentially changed how we were living our lives? They shifted our thinking. They inspired us to take new actions.
When we’re feeling stuck, exhausted, or driven to madness by a seemingly endless state of tension and uncertainty, there’s no better way to get back to ourselves than travel.
Being in a new place can remind us of something we love back home.
Meeting new people can remind us that we’re not alone.
Gaining new ideas can inspire us to imagine a different future for ourselves and our world.
Travel gives us space to breathe.
We can’t move forward without first taking a breath and looking around us. Travel gives us the space to take that breath.
And once we do, we can look around and start to intentionally create our lives. We stop accepting the status quo (or falling into our old patterns of living to work).
Taking care of our mental and emotional health is an essential part of healing, and sharing our experiences with one another can be a powerful gateway to renewed wellbeing.
Will ordering another home organization tool make our space a little happier? Maybe. Will trekking through the untouched wilderness of Nepal make you happier? Undoubtedly.
Travel positively impacts future generations.
When we travel mindfully and curiously, we will inevitably be changed by the experience. But it’s also important to be mindful of the impact our travel has on both the communities we visit and our communities at home.
We strive for travel that positively and regeneratively impacts the people and places we visit. We accomplish this through vetted partnerships with tour operators, hoteliers, and local guides who follow principles of sustainability and economic equity.
We take care to avoid over-tourism by finding local experiences that only operate privately or in small groups. We continuously reflect on how we can best learn from the destinations we visit in order to keep the money local (rather than lining the pockets of a corporate headquarters in NYC or London). And we run every moment of every trip through the lens of whether the experience will protect Mother Earth.
Travel reveals the answers to critical questions.
It’s important to distinguish between travel BEING the answer and travel REVEALING the right questions to be asking.
When you trust a company like Explorer X to plan your next journey, you’re also trusting us to be the mentor that challenges you to be more mindful about the decisions you make in your life and how they impact others–and the planet.
Will we find THE MOST incredible, off-the-beaten-path eco-hotel? Yes.
Will we ask you to pause and mindfully reflect on what you hope to gain from the travel experience before you even step foot on the plane? 100%.
At Explorer X, we continue to use travel to develop empathy, create a new sense of perspective, and better understand ourselves and the world.
We’re here to support you as we travel to reimagine what’s possible! Intrigued? Reach out to speak to one of our travel designers here.