We, as a species, need to travel more.

I like the comforts of home. When I go away, even for a few hours to toil at a dayjob, I miss them. I miss my cat, my desk, my games, and my friends. I like being able to dip into the fridge or pantry for a refreshment I put there myself, and turning up the volume on my entertainment as loud as I like. I like pants not being a requirement.

But the comforts of home to not outweigh the length and breadth of the world outside. Human beings are creatures of innovation and forward motion, for good and for ill. We are at our strongest when exposed to new ideas, new experiences, new ways of thought. We may not exist in a hive mentality like insects do, or move in formation the way birds fly as they migrate, but we do draw strength and inspiration from one another, even if the source of that inspiration is long dead.

Think about the history and fables that helped to shape you. Our stories are peppered with heroes and villains, battles and debates, struggles and loss and hope and triumphs. Can you look at the long skein of human history, and tell me truly that all of it came from just one point of view, just one nation, just one continent?

Is it really worth it to limit ourselves to just one point of view, just one nation, just one continent?

As human progress marches on, the world has become more interconnected. Mere mortals have conquered the skies. Journeys that once took months if not years now happen in days or even less. Messages, parts of thought and pieces of our hearts and minds, traverse the world at the speed of light. If nothing else, we should be in awe of everything we have accomplished.

I’ve traveled a bit in my time, and yet I feel I’ve barely scratched the surface of the world. There are so many more stories out amongst the citizens of the planet than I can really comprehend, and I want to share in at least a few of them. For me, the travel is worth the risk. I can understand folks who have fears of flying, but when a plane I’m on taxis to a runway and the engines spin up, I have to lean back and close my eyes, and when the metal tube powered by jets and human innovation escapes the bonds of the ground, I can’t help but smile.

I encourage you, gentle reader, to travel more. See things you haven’t seen with your own eyes before. Touch parts of the world distant from your comforts of home. Eat food you’re undertain of how to pronounce. Listen to the people who make their lives in those places, just as you make yours in your place of origin. Leave your comforts behind.And when you come home, those comforts will be all the sweeter.