There are three things that Barbie taught me about Wyoming: it has saloons, cowgirls/cowboys, and possibly gun fights.

When I was growing up in Pakistan, my younger sister had an annoying video game in which a player could send Barbie on travels to different places in the world. One day as I walked into the room while she was playing the game, she decided to send Barbie to Wyoming. Barbie walks out of a saloon wearing a cowgirl outfit and hat. She gets on her horse, kicks the dirt and goes on to explore some place in town. Suddenly, I didn’t hate Barbie and her life choices so much. I wondered if someday I could go to Wyoming and see what it was like.

In November 2013, I was traveling back home to Maryland from Boise, Idaho. I was there for work and was supposed to return after Thanksgiving for another week. With no real agenda on my mind, I picked up the United Airlines’ November edition of Hemispheres and noticed the cover story 3 perfect days: Jackson Hole.

Jackson Hole? What a strange name. I had never heard of this place. Curious to find out more, I flipped through the pages and located the article . It took me one glance to determine that it was in Wyoming. It made me smile and I began to read.

(Side note: I used a stock image as a subject for this sketch.)

I am a slow reader and hence, selective about what I read. Sam Polcer had my attention from the first sentence. By the time I was done reading every single detail, I had made up my mind: two weeks from now when it was time to go back home from Boise, I would fly to Jackson Hole and experience those three perfect days. What exactly I did in Jackson Hole is a story I will tell another day, but I had a blast. I fell in love and never wanted to leave.

Writing from the Heart

People were confused by why I was going to the ‘middle of nowhere’, especially in winter when it can get really cold there. But they hadn’t read what I had read. They hadn’t been inspired by the vivid account of a traveling soul going on solo adventures, in this winter wonderland. I wanted to visit all these places that he was talking about. I wanted to take the same dog sled ride he went on, and visit the Granite Hot Springs.

When I finally stepped off the little airplane in Jackson Hole and began my 3-day adventure, everything was as he described. There wasn’t an ounce of exaggeration. I knew then that this was a guy writing from his heart.

I have embraced my whimsical and spontaneous side since then. If I read about a place off the mainstream tourist map or a place in the middle of nowhere and it excited me, I went. I have never been disappointed. There’s always something to do, see, and appreciate. No matter where I am. But something has to ignite that curiosity, and for me it’s normally one of two things: I read something amazing or I saw something amazing. I bet that is true for most people. Something as small as a picture, or one well-written sentence is enough to inspire you to go somewhere that wasn’t even on your wish list.

The traveler sees what he sees, the tourist sees what he has come to see.– G.K. Chesterton

When the idea of creating this blog popped into my head, my plan for it was very mechanical. I am so glad that my execution is nothing like the original concept. I only have a handful of posts here and even as I go back a month to read them, I’ve noticed a progression from robotic/travel book-like to more personal. There are more stories. It feels more natural this way; it’s as if the rust is coming off and my writing is starting to show through. This makes me happy.

Whenever I started writing about my experiences or started telling a story, I wondered why people would be interested in reading about what I did or what I thought. I told myself that I should present facts; things that will help people with the information they might need. After all, the primary reason for presenting this information is that the world could benefit from it; so I steered myself away from the stories.

I realized soon that if it isn’t relatable, it doesn’t matter how perfectly I lay out all of the information. In fact, opening up and putting your stories out there for the world to read, is a little scary. It invites the good and the bad; the constructive and the destructive criticism. On the internet, someone will always hate something about you, so I wanted to remove all personal meaning from my writing.

Then I read a great blog post over at Legal Nomads and I loved how honest and relatable Jody Ettenberg was in all of her writing. She wrote, “…I would still be writing if no one were reading.” It instantly resonated with me. She presents her opinions in a humble and respectful way. So it’s easy to admire her writing even if you don’t agree with all her ideas. I like that. Now I’m more likely to take her seriously and go back to read what she has to say. She has more credibility by just writing one post, so she is more likely to inspire me now.

Inspiration in a Nutshell

We all have that natural instinct to wake up in the morning and go through the robotic movements of the day, but there is something that makes us spring to our feet. It’s the incredibly small flame flickering in the background. Inspiration is the fuel that makes it burst into a big flame. This fuel is so rare.

Remember when I wrote my post Why Do I Travel? and mentioned that I chuckled at the flow chart I drew for how the process of inspiration works? Well, I dug out that piece of paper today and examined it again. This is by no means perfect. It is merely an attempt to simplify a complex human behavior, in order to grasp it a little better. Humor me.

Inspiration is a fairly simple and at once extremely complicated process. It can be deliberate too. There are inspirational/motivational speakers who spend years perfecting the process of bringing out in others the thing that makes them tick. Then there are those who never strive to inspire but their actions and words are so profound that they unconsciously begin to lead the path of inspirational awakening.

Have you ever read something so epic that you wanted to pack up your bags and run out the door instantly? Tell me about it in the comments below and I might just pack mine and run off to see it!