OFJCC Personal Trainer Lyndsey Jones shares profound insight from her trip to Japan.

The last time I wrote I had just gotten back from my first solo trip to Peru, exhilarated by the perspective I gained. Even so, I couldn’t wait to embark on another journey. My goal in traveling is to experience other ways of life and to step out of my comfort zone. I decided the next great adventure was waiting for me in Japan.

Again, I landed and the excitement of being in another country sank in. But this time was different. I only spoke three words in Japanese, I looked different and my cultural norms were foreign to the people around me.

Through this, a realization of smallness came over me. I was this little speck of a person in these huge cities like Tokyo and Kyoto. There was so much life, so many people and so much going on around me. I saw a whole other world outside of my personal perspective. People all over the globe are going on about their days at all times, unaffected by my own world. People are experiencing their own issues and have their own routines.

At the same time, I discovered my own uniqueness as a person. There is a whole species of people out there, but only one me.

There is a teaching from the Hasidic leader Rabbi Simcha Bunem of Pershyscha. Rabbi Bunem carried two slips of paper, one in each pocket. On one he wrote: Bishvili nivra ha-olam—“for my sake the world was created.” On the other he wrote: V’anokhi afar v’efer”—“I am but dust and ashes.” To me, this shows each person’s uniqueness at the same time that we are one part of a larger whole.

It was a crazy feeling to know I’ve spent 24 years with myself but could learn so much about myself in one short week. I learned my strengths such as being able to navigate a totally foreign transportation system. I also was able to face some of my weaknesses, like being too shy to ask for help and experiencing a language barrier.

By realizing these attributes, I have learned my value as a person. You spend every second of your life with yourself but when you travel, you discover who you are. You go there to learn about another culture, but you come back learning about yourself. And the better you know yourself, the better you can love and take care of yourself to the fullest. Strong people know what they are made of and who they are.

In Peru, my perspective on happiness and how blessed I am emerged. In Japan, my perspective on myself was changed. I can only hope my next adventure serves another type of fulfilling purpose.

As a trainer, I strive to make a positive change in my clients’ lives, from their physical health to their emotional and mental well-being. I can help people tone their muscles, get in good cardiovascular shape and even lose body fat, but I believe if I can help a person live life to the fullest, that can make the biggest difference.

I’ve found that events that change the perceptions we hold become more and more rare as we grow older. We become set in our ways, and set in our views. When we are able to experience something that throws our normalcy for a loop, it can be a breath of fresh air. About eight months ago, an epiphany came over me: now was the time to travel. I counted down the days to my trip to Peru. I had never traveled solo–I had never even left the country before. Talk about jumping in head first!

I landed and immediately knew I was in another country. It was beautiful beyond belief—the people were so charming, the culture so vivid and the terrain was indescribable.

Another noteworthy thing that I came to terms with very quickly, however, was the difference in living conditions. While staying in one city, I went to take a shower in my hostel to find the water would not turn on. When I asked the front desk receptionist about it, he laughed as he told me the town was “charging” the water for the day so I’d have to wait until tomorrow. Everywhere I stayed I had to brush my teeth with bottled water, and I went several nights with no hot water or no running water at all.

At one point, because of the altitude, I had to go to the local hospital for an oxygen mask (nothing too unusual there). I sat in a medical room with four other Peruvian women as I was treated. There were cracks in the corners of the roof. Flies landed on medical equipment, and the supplies looked outdated.

I explored the quaintness of the Sacred Valley, the captivating city of Cusco, the mystic views of Machu Picchu and many other sites and places, but as much beauty as I encountered, I realized how fortunate I was to live in the conditions I do.

In the states, we live in excess, convenience and abundance, but I have realized we do not always appreciate life. We complain (myself included) because our phone is not charged, we have to sit in traffic, our water needs to be shut off for a few hours for repair or our coffee wasn’t made right.

This trip was an eye-opener about what brings happiness and satisfaction in our lives—they are things we cannot define by our material assets. As a trainer, I enjoy sharing my observations and experiences with my clients. The trip made me realize how blessed we truly are to be able to live life to the fullest.