Many introverted or highly sensitive people struggle to fit into current ideals.
In our time and culture there is a lot of emphasis on being adventurous and having unlimited energy. If somebody have travelled a lot they are met with admiration and respect. The more active you are the more you are seen as resourceful and productive which makes you fit in well with modern ideals.
I recently spoke with a woman who identifies as introverted and highly sensitive. She expressed how she feels ashamed of never having been in an airport. The longest trip she had ever taken was from Denmark, where she lived and to Northern Germany.
There are many ways to have and to spend energy. Being extroverted isn’t the only way. Introverted and highly sensitive people often spend their energy on introspection – reflecting on their inner processes. Because it is also possible to go travelling in our inner landscapes.
One can travel across high mountains, through deep valleys and into the farthest corners of the soul. This kind of journeying can require as much energy as travelling in the outer world. But when we are having lunch at work it is rarely our experiences from inner journeys that we bring up. And introverted people may forget to give themselves credit for what they have achieved when travelling in their inner landscapes.
Imagine if introverted or highly sensitive people gave the following response after somebody else had listed all the countries they’ve visited:
“Have you ever been to the valleys behind the Mountain of Hope – where no single ray of light can enter, where everything feels heavy and grey and you long for eternal rest? Or have you been to that inner grove where everything makes sense in every single moment?
No? Well that’s a shame because those are places where you find yourself wiser after having visited”
Read more about Highly Sensitive People
How lovely to read this. I agree that although our society prides itself on acceptance today, there are still great prejudices against the introverted and highly sensitive, and disapproval of the non-traveller is one of those. Experiencing as I do everything more acutely than other people, the noise and dislocation necessitated by travel is more of a burden to me and often cancels out the pleasures. I used to force myself to travel as if it was a moral duty, but thanks to reading about the highly sensitive trait I now understand why I feel this way. I now rarely travel more than a few miles from my home. Many people would think this boring and unadventurous, and yet living in beautiful surroundings and having a rich inner life I find the grounded life endlessly satisfying. Thank you for speaking out on behalf of many other people who feel the same.