We Are Subconsciously Losing Our Freedom For Exploration

There's a problem out there with the viral hold that the outdoors is beginning to take on our world. Our freedom while exploring is being taken from us. But wait, that's an oxymoron isn't it? Aren't freedom and exploration conditional with each other? In order to be able to explore, you have to have the freedom to do so. I say nein, through our obsessive desire to search out the most iconic locations we have managed to create a world in which we have become tricked into thinking that we are freely exploring, but in reality we are just following the masses (for the most part).

I'm sure some of you might be reading this and saying to yourself "this guy has no clue what he is talking about, I just spent a couple months travelling and seeing the greatest sights this country/world has to offer." Ah but lets listen to that last bit, "seeing the greatest sights." I'd be willing to bet that you found these destinations through social media or other such avenues of the interweb, and if so, did you take time in-between to seek out your own destinations? If so then great, you are doing your own thing, keep on groovin, but if not, you have officially succumbed to that conditional contradiction between freedom and exploration that I am talking about. 

Making sense yet? Let me put it this way, you have a zoo full of talking animals, I just went there and now I am raving about the talking frog. It was the craziest and most ridiculously cool thing I have ever seen, you have to see it to. You are most likely going to go to this zoo and see this talking frog. But the problem with this is you are going to spend so much time with that talking frog that you don't have time to see any of the other talking animals, especially that kick ass kangaroo with the Australian accent, and thus the freedom of finding your own favorite was subconsciously taken away from you. 

This is one of the problems that is beginning to take shape with how we discover the world around us. We're too caught up in seeing what everyone else is, that we aren't giving ourselves the opportunity to forge our own path and create our own destinations.

I will be the first one to admit to have fallen victim to this, especially within my recent adventures. Fortunately my ambitious nature hasn't allowed me to completely ignore those random backroads and trekking into the unknown, which has ultimately lead to some my most rewarding moments. After all isn't that what exploring is all about, heading into the unknown in search of your own adventure... not someone elses. Having experienced both, I can confidently say that these ventures of unhindered self interest have lead to moments much greater than what is promised by the iconic. 

Of course I am not saying ignore The Grand Canyon, Yosemite, Yellowstone, etc.. as places of that sort are national treasures for a reason, but rather next time you are planning your next adventure just be aware that there are millions of other places out there that there are no definitive guides to, and often times those places end up being way more epic than those iconic ones that you had in mind.