How to Live More Mindfully in 2023
- Amit Jaipuria
- Dec 30, 2022
- 4 min read
What if I told you there was a better way to travel than simply checking off points of interest on a bucket list or choosing your next destination based on which has the most insta worthy backdrops? A way to enhance the travel experience, have more fun, and personally transform into a better version of yourself?
Well, there is. Mindful travel.
By Amit Jaipuria
Founder of Postcard Travel Stories
Mindful travel is the practice of traveling with an open heart and mind, with an intention of learning about the culture and customs of the places we visit, and interacting with locals to engage in a more authentic and memorable travel experience.
We know that every destination has hundreds of local stories to share. Stories about its people, culture, history, food, nature and wildlife. But often, those stories go untold.
Let me tell you a few stories…
The Quechua-speaking Amaru Community lives in the Andes. Choosing to live away from the cities, they reconnected with ancestral knowledge and traditional Inca techniques of agriculture and the production of textiles using plants to derive some of the most vivid colors you’ve ever seen. These practices can be traced back thousands of years.
In Bhutan, for hundreds of years, the Bhutanese practiced the method of soaking in Menchu (medicinal water) for the healing effect. Traditionally during the olden days, families used to soak in the hot stone bath after their seasonal farm work in winter. The long, healing bath relaxed their tired bodies and helped cure back aches and joint pains. Today the practice can be linked to a trip to the spa.
Then there’s the trance dance of the Khoisan tribe in Botswana, the most powerful and spiritual element of this ancient culture. It brings people together as a group. Men, women, and children collectively play a role in empowering the shamans to channel the energy of their ancestors.
Lastly, the fertile slopes of Mount Etna provide prime growing conditions for one of Sicily’s most important cultivations, pistachios. MUSA farm, located at 1050 meters above sea level, produces pistachios along with various other crops. At the heart of their philosophy is being accessible to all visitors, whatever their physical needs.
Storytelling is a fundamental human experience that unites people and drives stronger, more meaningful connections. From the earliest recorded history, storytelling was a method used by cavemen to communicate, educate, share, and connect. Storytelling is also a powerful method for learning. One of the things that is unique about stories is that they transmit knowledge and meaning.
What if we could travel keeping in mind such stories of the places we visit? What if we could learn about these stories before we travel so we could build anticipation and excitement around the people we meet and the experiences we have? Travel would then really start well before you get on that flight, train or into the car.
But where does one find these stories? They are hidden in corners of the internet, where independent boutique hotels and travel designers showcase stories on their individual websites in order to inspire travelers. It is hard to find them on Google or social media due to the noise and algorithm-driven engines on those channels. As a result, traditions remain misunderstood, cultures seem foreign, and people are unable to relate easily to one another.
That’s why we created Postcard.
Postcard is a storytelling platform that helps storytellers publish short local stories from around the world and present them for travelers to read and collect. To make sure they are genuine and authentic, we partner with local boutique hoteliers and travel designers who uplift local communities and are ambassadors for their lands. We invite them to create their Postcard Stories Pages and publish Postcard Stories to inspire people to learn more about them and visit as mindful travelers rather than tourists. Postcard's stories not only serve as inspiration when trying to decide where to travel next, but they become the fabric of our next vacation, allowing you to weave exploration with discovery - not only of the culture and traditions of the destinations we’re visiting but also of ourselves.
Every Postcard story is bite-sized (300 words or less), easy to consume, and published as 2-sided Postcards on the website for travelers to read and collect. Collecting multiple postcards helps us build our wishlists of stories with which to travel the world. We can share these stories with our family and friends to inspire them, or maybe even plan a trip based on common interests.
Not only is mindful travel more fun and experiential, it also contributes to serving the local people. When we travel this way, we do so by being more understanding of the local people and the way they choose to live their lives. Traveling with such awareness also opens our minds and hearts up to personal transformation.
Finally, traveling mindfully helps us contribute to a better future. When we start to travel with local stories in mind, we become not only mindful travelers but also travelers having empathy about the people and places we visit. As we are inspired by their stories, we become a voice for them when we share their stories with others. We inspire our family and friends to choose traveling this way, and we play a part in promoting a more inclusive world.
We become global citizens living in our individual countries, but we also learn to appreciate the diversity that is present around our world.
Wouldn't this be a wonderful way to travel in 2023?
To recap, here are
5 Tips for Traveling More Mindfully in 2023
Research local stories of the people and places where you are traveling to
Book with boutique hotels and travel operators that support the local community
Meet with locals and learn from their stories
Carry a journal and write down your thoughts of the stories that inspired you
Send a postcard to a loved one
About Amit
An impact entrepreneur for over 20 years, Amit has started multiple companies across industries such as consumer tech, retail, agri tech, fine art and travel. He is passionate about creating and empowering communities to bring about change in the status quo. He founded Postcard when, as a traveller, he found it difficult using conventional channels to find boutique hotels and tours that uplifted local communities and promoted responsible tourism. He believes responsible travel starts with building empathy and educating people about the people and places they visit.
