I’m a person that always strives to find the positives in life. When we were forced to stay home during the height of the coronavirus pandemic, I made use of the time and space given to me, channelling that into positive activities. I’m lucky to have a home that I love – a place that reflects my personality and gives me enough space to work, eat, relax, socialise (when allowed). Working from home has not been a chore. However, there is one thing that has proven difficult for me, as I’m sure it has for many. Not having the freedom to travel. Wings clipped, I suddenly realised how much travel means to me. How travel has inspired me. To live in, breathe in and fully immerse myself in different places, cultures, and ways of life.
INSPIRATION
Travel has always been an inspiration for me. A way of keeping me motivated. A reward for the commitment, dedication, and hours of hard work that I put into my business.
I’ve been very lucky to travel through work to the States, New York. Marrakesh. Moscow. London. Rio de Janiero. Barbados. Paris. The list goes on. I realise this is a luxury not many people will be able to enjoy. My favourite? I loved Istanbul and Marrakesh. I loved the scents, the people, the culture, the way it was so different to England. I loved Venice. We organised a wedding in Venice. We flew in on a private jet and took a private boat to the hotel which we had hired exclusively. That’s not the real world, but it was my world for a week or so.
All very different. But I’ve embraced every single experience that I’ve had and that also reflects in what I do here in the UK.
RELAXATION
In my personal life, travel is about relaxation and recuperation. An opportunity to forget everyone and everything for a short amount of time. Every year I attend a yoga retreat in Turkey. Or a favourite detox resort in Portugal. It’s my solace. My sanctuary. I go exhausted, burnt out. I return rejuvenated. A new woman thanks to the healing properties of travel.
ENRICHMENT
When thinking about how travel has inspired me, aside from relaxation, travel is about enrichment. Giving me a broader perspective on life. It provides the opportunity to learn about different cultures, beliefs, and traditions and that has translated into some of my work as a consultant. Travel opens the eyes and feeds the soul. And you cannot help but absorb some of the things you see into your life and work. Colours, fabrics, styles, traditions, ideas. Never more so than when I visited India. A country that featured on my bucket list for years. Rich in scents, sights and certainly soulful. It was inspiring in so many ways. Travel feeds my creativity.
It’s true that you never really appreciate what you have until it is gone. Once the pandemic is over, I fully intend to hop on the nearest plane to an exotic location. Somewhere I have never been to before.
The thrill of experiencing something new, visiting somewhere breathtakingly beautiful allows you to stop and breath – to really live in the moment. As a mother and grandmother these concepts are something I intend to share with my family. The fact that true value in life can be found in experiences over things is a lesson I hope to teach them first-hand through travel.
EXPLORATION
Travel and explore through the incredible words and wisdom of author Elizabeth Gilbert. Her book, Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman’s Search for Everything, was a best seller and hit movie, and it still resonates with me. I picked up the book again last week, and was absorbed by the countries, culture and the author’s journey of self-discovery. Travel truly cleanses the soul and feeds the imagination: www.goodreads.com/book/show/19501.Eat_Pray_Love
As a podcaster, I am also drawn to brilliant audio shows that take me on a virtual journey. The best, for me, Wander Woman. Award-winning writer, broadcaster and Wanderlust editor Phoebe Smith invites listeners into her unique world of travel. Curtailed at the moment, it’s worth a listen to the back catalogue. Intriguing and fascinating. www.wanderwoman.buzzsprout.com
