Travel to see life with fresh eyes
My one regret about life is that it is too short. Way too short. The more you see of it, the more you realise how little you know. It’s the same with the planet we live on. The more you travel, the more you understand that what you have seen before only scratches the surface of Earth in linear lines.
When we travel in straight lines, life can become a little predictable and, at times, seem meaningless – the bills keep coming, the daily grind of more problems to solve... just the maintenance of existing can take its toll.
I believe travel can help fix that and give you a much-needed shot into your wellbeing bank account. It’s a mindset shift, a change in perspective and almost a helicopter view of your own place on the planet. I travel more than most and have just finished a five-week New Zealand tour in my ambulance measuring forestry workers’ wellbeing.
I can do a Saturday day shift in the emergency department before being fortunate enough to fall asleep on a plane and wake up in Shanghai.
Talk about a change in perspective, from a remote Pouto forest to a city of 24 million people, this place is mind blowing. My 21-year-old son, who left the forest a week before me and speaks some Mandarin, is a welcome sight at the airport as we negotiate our way through the subway. It is more congested than normal because of a service breakdown and even the All Blacks would have their work cut out managing the scrum as people fight to get on the train before those on it can disembark. But it’s all good-natured.
From what I have seen, Shanghai deserves its reputation as one of the great cities of the world. I have arrived on a warm and cloudless autumn day, no sign of pollution, clean streets, amazing food, alleyways and side streets. It’s difficult to walk in a straight line here, there is so much to see. To fall asleep and wake up on what feels like another planet has really made me think. It’s like being a kid again. Shanghai is surprisingly stunning and at night is as impressive as the Northern Lights, which I was lucky enough to see last year.
Travel can make you see life differently, if you let it. Even 48 hours without Google and Facebook (these are blocked in China) feels like a holiday. I reflect that the packed trains with people glued to their smartphones may be no different from those glued to their Dominion Post newspapers when I used to catch the daily train from Pomare to Wellington in 1981 while studying at university.
A business meeting and an insight to Chinese culture and history has also changed my perspective and refreshed my viewpoint and wellbeing.
I think what is so charming is that I discovered Shanghai almost by accident. It was not on my radar as a destination. Now I can’t imagine not having experienced it, albeit briefly. It’s like finding a jewel you didn’t expect. Sitting on a rooftop bar, drinking a healthy coconut mocktail, I look down on Shanghai as it sparkles like a jewel. My next stop and perspective shift is Scotland. ● Dr Tom Mulholland is an Emergency Department Doctor and GP with over 25 years experience in New Zealand. He’s currently a man on a mission, tackling health missions around the world.