Thoughts Along the Path . . .

I try not to eavesdrop on other people’s conversations, but sometimes I can’t help but hear it. I suspect you know what I mean.

That’s exactly what happened today in the gym here in Ayr. I don’t know the people involved and I hope I don’t write anything that identifies them without their permission. But since it got me thinking, I’m going to tell you a bit about it.

They were sharing plans for travel in Europe in a few months as well as remembering how they traveled there several years ago. Since I’m older than them by at least a couple of decades my mind wandered into how travel has changed.

The first time I traveled in Europe was 1970 as a university student. Empowered by a Eurail Pass, a hard copy guidebook, and a bunch of traveler’s cheques, I was good-to-go. For three months I wandered through 14 European countries. I did not have an itinerary, though I was aware of some of the highlights for travel back then. But sometimes I got on a train without knowing where or when I would get off. I chatted with other passengers and at some point decided yes, that sounds like fun. I remember one time in July I saw someone get on a train with skiis and decided to go wherever they were going. I ended up in a resort town near Zermatt, Switzerland and not only went skiing but also visited a sauna for the first time.

Even as I write this, I find myself wondering how I was bold enough to do all of that on my own. It was obviously a different time with youths traveling with backpacks and supporting each other. We trusted ourselves and the countless people we met along the way to give us good advice, treat us with respect, and have enough common sense to make good choices or to find our way out of the inevitable bad choices.

The people in the gym shared stories about travel about 20 years ago. They had credit cards, searched internet sites for basic information, and used sites such as Facebook to network with other travelers. They prepared in advance a plan, though they occasionally allowed distractions and impulses to vary it. They also traveled at a level of luxury that I never would have been able to afford, such as a resort.

At one point I was tempted to let them know I was listening and ask them why they travel. Since I didn’t do that, I can only wonder. But I suspect most of us travel for reasons as beautifully summarized by Saint Augustine: “The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page.”

As they talked about their upcoming trip, they used words that didn’t even exist back in my earlier days. Timeshare. Internet. Websites. Email. Streaming. Social Media. Facebook. Instagram. Influencers. YouTube. Search engine. PayPal. eTransfer.

As I moved to another part of the gym and their conversation was winding down, I wondered about travel in the future. What do you think travel will be like in 20 years? Or will we have more “virtual reality” travel, similar to the “holodeck” in Star Trek? In case you don’t know what that is, here is a definition from my sometimes-helpful AI bot: “an advanced room that creates interactive, simulated environments using holograms, force fields, and replicator technology.” If I have read those words in 1970, I would have been completely perplexed.

Whatever travels looks like in the future, we can be certain it will be different from what it is now. The Baha’i writings look at change as a quality of life itself: “The wisdom of this is that the times never remain the same, for change is a necessary quality and an essential attribute of this world, and of time and place.”

Whether you have literally traveled in the past or plan to so in the future, you do move through time and place. You have changed; wherever you go has changed; and what you do and what you learn continue to change.

I do hope you are enjoying your journey.

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Submitted to Ayr News by Jaellayna Palmer November 2025