The journey generates the illusion of cutting ties with the life we ​​lead every day. Sometimes this can lead us to think that the discomfort that afflicts us can be resolved with a long journey, with no return date. In these cases it is an escape attempt, which usually fails.
Last update: February 14, 2020
We live in a complex world, in which, unfortunately, the idea is widespread that there should be no room for discomfort. Although the latter is naturally part of life, there are currents that are committed to fighting this reality. There are therefore many people who do not tolerate discomfort and, when they meet it, try to escape. Sometimes the escape takes the form of a long journey.
It is quite common to hear someone say that they are fed up with everything and want to leave. Some manage to turn this idea into reality. They undertake, in fact, a journey to leave behind everything that causes them conflict, or perhaps it is better to say that they undertake the escape from reality through the journey.
This is why we talk about growth journeys and escape journeys. The former derive from a healthy desire to broaden one's horizons and discover the world. The latter are undertaken following an idealization of the destination that ends up leading to disappointment and, perhaps, to great confusion.
“Traveling is a state of mind, a way of reviewing our points of view on the world and on ourselves, of exploring and looking. But it is never the answer to all problems, it is never a way to eliminate anxieties and at some point it will always be disappointing. "
-Miranda Ward-
Take a step back and travel
There is a subtle, yet profound, difference between take a step back to approach a problem from another point of view and take a step back as a form of escape. The problem is that we often don't even realize if we're doing one or the other.
Travel is one of those occasions when you want to change your perspective or take the escape. In one way or another, the journey "disconnects" us from the usual routine and the usual problems. When one embarks on a long journey, with the aim of not returning in the short term, the disconnection is much more radical.
How healthy or neurotic this choice is depends on both motives and goals. If the motivation is to break away from anything that makes us uncomfortable, it's probably more of an escape trip. If the aim is to find a place where everything will finally be fine and where happiness awaits us, it is probably an extensive escape.
Escape in the form of a long journey
A journey of growth is undertaken when there is a desire for novelty, curiosity for the world and the desire to make discoveries. It is not linked to the problems of everyday life, but rather to the strong desire to broaden one's perspective, to learn and to live. You plan and have fun planning it. It is not preceded by conflicts, but by best wishes.
An escape journey, on the other hand, is undertaken starting from exhaustion, from the desire to no longer have to deal with what torments us and to eliminate all that we do not like. You don't want to write a new page, but delete the previous ones.
It is planned relatively superficially and is driven more by impetus than by reason. Typically, it is preceded by dense silences, screams, or slamming doors.
The real difficulty is that you can escape from everything but yourself. Usually the problems we want to leave behind reproduce again at their destination. Even if the scenario changes, the essence of what happens to us remains the same. Indeed, it is very likely that it will get worse.
The journey within oneself
Sometimes we refuse to explore within ourselves, because we do not want to give up certain fantasies or because we are afraid to dig into those wounds that we consider incurable. We do not run away because we are cowards or because we have no character, but because we think it is an effective solution, but in fact it is not.
Every time you travel, you are confronted with fascinating novelties that give the illusion of acting in a new life. However, as the days, weeks and months go by, things change. There is no place on earth that is free from sadness, disappointment, selfishness, envy, anger and everything that at first, at first glance, is not grasped.
When the novelty ends, the malaise will likely re-emerge. It may take other forms or manifest in other ways, but it will be there. At that point we might think we have the wrong destination, that the hidden treasure is in another place, in another continent. And we could also embark on a new journey towards escape.
