We travel, initially, to lose ourselves, and we travel, next, to find ourselves. We travel to open our hearts and eyes. And we travel, in essence, to become young fools again—to slow time down and get taken in, and fall in love once more.
Interpretation
Travel helps us to explore ourselves and experience life with renewed enthusiasm.
In this quote, Ray Bradbury reflects on the transformative nature of travel. He suggests that our journeys allow us to explore different facets of ourselves, reclaim lost innocence, and reignite our passion for life. Traveling opens our hearts and minds, helping us to appreciate the present moment and engage deeply with the world around us, ultimately leading to personal growth and self-discovery.
In practice
During a motivational speech about the importance of travel for self-growth.
I've written about 2,000 short stories; I've only published 300 and I feel I'm still learning. Any man who keeps working is not a failure. He may not be a great writer, but if he applies the old fashioned virtues of hard, constant labor, he'll eventually make some kind of career for himself as a writer. Ray Bradbury, 1967 interview (Doing the Math - that means for every story he sold, he wrote six "un-publishable" ones. Keep typing!)
I never went to college, so I went to the library.
There must be something in books, something we can’t imagine, to make a woman stay in a burning house; there must be something there. You don’t stay for nothing.
I think the sun is a flower, That blooms for just one hour.
The first thing a writer should be is - excited. He should be a thing of fevers and enthusiasms. Without such vigor, he might as well be out picking peaches or digging ditches; God knows it'd be better for his health.
You can't try to do things; you simply must do them.
Of all possible debauches, traveling is the greatest that I know; that's the one they invented when they got tired of all the others.
To travel is very useful, it makes the imagination work, the rest is just delusion and pain. Our journey is entirely imaginary, which is its strength.
I learned a long time ago that trying to micromanage the perfect vacation is always a disaster. That leads to terrible times.
By seeing London, I have seen as much of life as the world can show.
Traveling makes you realize what an immeasurably nice place much of America could be if only people possessed the same instinct for preservation as they do in Europe.
Despite having seen a fair amount of the world, I still love travelling - I just have an insatiable curiosity and like looking out of a window.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.