A Letter to the Traveler with Chronic Illness

To the traveler with chronic illness,

The one full of ambitious hunger to see every corner of the world but consumed in surviving just from the perimeter of your home. 

The one with a notes app list of “Bucket List Trips” and a pinterest board of the Earth’s embodiment of relaxation looks like. 

The one ready to book a flight at any moment but held back by your body’s unknown future ways.

I invite you to take a slow, deep, and releasing deep breath. One that allows your facial muscles to feel softer and your body to release in this moment from stress. 

Think of a place you long to visit. 

Where the depths of the ocean touch the “bottom” of the sky. 

Where grassy mountains run endless in front of you for miles and miles. 

Where there are city lights that are so bright they could keep you up all night to roam.

Whatever your place is, imagine your perfect day there. You wake up in the morning. 

What do you do first? 

What about after that? 

Where are you eating throughout the day? 

How are you relaxing? 

What is your favorite part of this day? 

As you picture yourself roaming, adventuring the globe, you envision yourself taking a deep breath and thinking to yourself, ‘I’m here in the now, in the place I dreamed of’.

To you, the traveler with chronic illness - 

You may feel limited in your opportunities to physically visit somewhere else, but mentally visiting is endless. Emotionally visiting is healing. Spiritually visiting is manifesting. 

Remember this…

Not pursuing a trip because of your chronic illness is you prioritizing what is most important. Your health. Your body. Your rest and your recovery. 

And that is not failure.
That is not a negative.
That is not living a smaller life.

It is a different rhythm of living. 

A rhythm where adventure sometimes looks like a walk around the block instead of a cross-continental flight. Where courage looks like canceling instead of boarding. Where dreaming is not foolish, but it is fuel. 

You are still a traveler.

You travel through seasons most people won’t ever see. You travel to a place most people won’t ever go: inward.

So, for now, travel the way you can.

Travel gently. Travel imaginatively. Travel slowly.

You are not behind. You are not missing life. You are living a life dedicated to taking care of you. The kind of life people go their lifetime without experiencing.

And that, in all its beauty and difficulty, is still a journey.