The Intentional Tourist

Macon Leary in Anne Tyler's 1985 novel "The Accidental Tourist" writes a series of guidebooks for businessmen who hate to travel.  He teaches how to avoid unwanted human interaction and how to return to the security and safety of home as quickly as possible.

I've been traveling on business since Tyler's novel was published and since 1990, most of that business travel has been to other countries, about 30 at last count.  While I keep a list of places I'd like to return to for a real vacation, that rarely seems to happen.  I realized long ago that my chance to experience other places and cultures was in the here and now.

So when I travel on business, I am anything but an accidental tourist.  Rather, I am very intentional about making the most of the trip from a personal perspective without sacrificing the business objective at hand.  My intentional side trips can range from 15 minutes in the Louvre to a full day trip on a free Saturday or Sunday.

I think the popular term for enjoying the moment is mindfulness.  I'll just stick with intentionality.

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