Listen to Your Body and Soul When You Travel
You may just find your future home
There are many reasons to travel. Many people schedule an annual trip to relax and reward themselves for their hard work during the year. Others seek to explore and achieve a better understanding of different cultures. Mark Twain famously said, ‘Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness.’
But occasionally, you find yourself in a place and quickly feel like you were meant to be there. Many years ago, I first experienced that feeling when I traveled to Seattle on a work trip. Certainly, the beauty of the great Northwest and the Pacific Ocean impressed me, but it was more than that; I felt better physically and more at ease. I came close to moving there at one point, but circumstances beyond my control ended that dream.
About eighteen years ago, when my husband and I started dating, we took a trip to Puerto Vallarta in Jalisco, Mexico. I had that same kind of ‘I could live here’ feeling there. We subsequently scheduled vacations there annually and eventually lived there for three and a half years. Due to my husband’s health concerns, the pandemic forced us back to Minneapolis, but I still visit there often and intend to live there again someday, at least for part of the year.
Feeling comfortable in a place may involve the scenery, the people, and the overall cultural vibe. But for some of us, there is more to it than that. In addition to the obvious weather features such as the temperature, humidity, and type of precipitation, there are other climate-type features that only those with allergies, sinus issues, and barometric pressure sensitivities find important.
You may think that allergens would only represent a threat when some flora or fauna life exists outside or minimally a derivative of such plant life such as pollen. But if you check the allergies for Minneapolis in the dead of winter, you’ll find that often the dust and dander allergies are off the charts. With these allergy readings, the risk of arthritis pain and sinus pressure also goes up. And with no ocean or mountain range to reign things in, the barometric pressure is all over the place, causing headaches, pressure, and pain for those inflicted with that condition.
Don’t get me wrong; Paradise isn’t problem free. When I’m in PV, I religiously wear my sunscreen and do my best to protect myself from mosquitoes and other insect bites. I require screens for sleeping and having a good exterminator make regular visits helps a lot. I’m allergic to termite larvae which I learned the hard way when most of the capillaries in my body burst. I refer to this part of my life as my ‘purple period.’ But usually, the only time my allergies bother me there are when the jacarandas and primavera bloom. An OTC pill takes care of my symptoms, and the beautiful purple and yellow flowers are much prettier than ragweed.
Various circumstances find me back in Minneapolis for the most part now. But my body and soul continue to tell me to fly south when I can. Do you have a place that makes you feel better physically and mentally? I’d love to hear about it.
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Marcia Gage currently resides with her husband in downtown Minneapolis. She has four adult sons and five grandchildren. Marcia is an AWAI Certified Copywriter and a member of International Travel Writers and Photographers Alliance (ITWPA). She specializes in travel, wine, CBD and alternative health, psychology, and self-help.
You can check out her books including the children’s book, ‘Nana and Bad Grandpa Move to Mexico’ on Amazon here.
Her background is in Education and Development. She holds an MS in Psychology. In addition to writing, she loves reading, music, gardening, and baseball. Follow her on Facebook here.