What does exploring mean to you?
From long-haul overseas holidays, to spontaneous road trips, or even simple recreational activities such as visiting the museum and checking out the new grocery store near your apartment, we never stop exploring. It is only human to explore.
Historically, humans have ventured the untouched land. They were not mindless little vacations that adventurers could afford to go on every once in a while. To Marco Polo, it was a life-changing gamble. He visited China and stayed there for 17 years. Until he died, no one truly believed in and appreciated his stories.
So I guess we don’t go on these voyages to prove a point, do we? We are there to enjoy the time being spent, the sights being seen, and the surprises being discovered. It could perhaps even lead to some sort of self-discovery.
But the meaning made from each trip is up to the voyager, it is not up to me.
That leads to my next question: how has digital media changed our mindset when exploring? I cannot answer this on behalf of everyone, but my experience tells me that a lot have changed.
Scrambling for inspirations, one destination after another, I add them to the list of places I am waiting to go to, in the form of Instagram posts. Each square depicts the picturesque scenery I want to witness first-hand. This restless desire to explore was unfound before the peak of my Instagram usage - this habit of viewing countless stories tagged with locations is taking its toll on me.
Don’t get me wrong, I like exploring regardless of the Insta gaze – yes, that’s a term I just invented. What I mean is, being exposed to more possible places I could visit, being fed with aesthetically pleasing images of this and that, makes my hunger insatiable. It is like putting more food on my plate than I can eat, and before I could finish them, they go cold.
Marvelling at this 60s-themed bar in Korea full of references of my favourite films, I wish I could teleport. If COVID didn’t happen I would’ve gone there during my exchange year. Did you know the world’s first meme museum is now open to the public? Everything looks so fun and flashy, I wish I was there! This beach, that island, this cave, and all these places I didn’t get to go to, they all form a void in my mind…
It is this sickness of mine – always focusing on where I haven’t been, where I want to go next, where I didn’t get to go. Barely thinking about where my privileged self has already been, and barely counting my blessings.
The compulsive idea of ‘ticking things off my bucket list’ has filled me with more dissatisfaction than satisfaction. Is this the epitome of exploration in this digital age?
When I visited Hong Kong in December 2020, I told myself that I am only here to visit family and friends. Amidst the pandemic, I should lower my expectations and let go of this exploring compulsion, because in this journey called life, distance is not the only length that counts. I found comfort in having flexible plans, making peace with not being able to do everything I want to do, and holding off my bucket list. It can wait.
In adopting this mindset, I ended up visiting a couple of places I always wanted to visit, including the iconic Dragon’s Back – I was definitely pushing my limits up that hiking route, an Italian restaurant up in Soho that serves Wagyu bowls (they were okay), and a records store that did not have Leslie Cheung albums, to my disappointment.
Being physically capable of reaching new heights and walking into hipster shops; and being mentally capable of finding them disappointing and boring, is a major blessing.
This was an overdue realisation.
Looking at the disparity between my life back in January and my life right now, I found a new way of living. Two months into the Sydney lockdown, I think I unlocked a new level of Zen!
All jokes aside, I do believe now that a person can – independent of external indulgences – explore deep within themselves, not go anywhere physically and not find it painful. Moreover, most experiences that have a significant influence on a person’s life are events that transcend physical locations.
Unless you free your mind from constraints and rigid itineraries, exploring can be a nuance.
The biggest joy is, after all, discovering a hidden gem. Totally unexpected, caught by surprise.
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