There's a reason tourists stick out like such sore thumbs. With their cameras around their necks, their large maps shielding their faces, and backpacks stuffed with snacks and sunscreen, tourists are always prepared and seem to store an overwhelming sense of enthusiasm in their knee high socks.
Along with my strange obsession with adorable little children and old people, I also have a weird fetish for tourists. I just think they are so stinking cute, I mean look at them.
Tourists will spend most of their day taking pictures, walking, stopping, and pointing. They will buy souvenirs and local paraphernalia, and they will wake up early just to do the things locals take for granted.
If you think about it, tourists are willing to spend a little money, soak up cultures, and take risks because their adventures have a time stamp on them. Due to the time restraint, things are put into perspective and they make a conscious effort to soak up as much as they can.
For me, tourists are a true symbol of what life should be about. Soaking up every bit of adventure in each day, embodying an overzealous amount of enthusiasm, being open to trying new things and taking risks, and getting lost and turned around countless times but still taking pictures of even the moments not on the itinerary because these moments are just as special.
Tourists know they are the outsiders. But, from the outside looking in, they humble themselves to learn new ways of living, how to see from different perspectives, and how to become people for the world, rather than people of the world.
As easy as it is to get used to a routine and to settle down where we choose to live, we can still treat life like a tourist. We don't have to live like insiders. This may be the easiest option, but also the least fulfilling.
If we constantly channel the enthusiasm of a tourist we will soon find that there are so many things to do in our everyday lives that our settled selves have been too boring to ever branch out and try.
Take a personal day every once in a while, put on your khakis, bucket hat, knee high socks and take on a day of adventures.
Better yet, bring your inner tourist to work with you today and just try something a little out of the ordinary to add some spice to your life. You will soon find a sense of enthusiasm rekindled inside of you the moment you start to see your everyday life through the eyes of your inner tourist.
