The Magic of Slow Travel in a Disconnected World
Updated June 24, 2024
A few years ago, I was sitting at a café in Paris — you know the kind, where the air smells faintly of espresso, butter, and possibility. I had nowhere to be and nothing pressing to do. Just me, my thoughts, and a notebook. As I sat there watching people drift in and out of their lunch hours, I noticed something powerful: the Parisians weren’t rushing. They lingered over meals, laughed freely, debated the virtues of wine versus espresso. They were living in time, not against it.
Meanwhile, the Americans who sat nearby (yes, I could tell — we all can) were multitasking: snapping pictures, scrolling their phones, checking the next stop on their itinerary. Their bodies were in Paris, but their minds were a thousand miles away. And in that moment, I realized — this isn’t just about travel. This is about how we live.
U.Va. psychologist James A. Coan conducted the study. “People close to us become a part of ourselves, and that is not just metaphor or poetry, it’s very real,” he said.
The Soul of Slow Travel
Slow travel, for me, is sacred — an intentional act of remembering who you are. It’s the art of being present, awake to your senses, and grounded in your spirit. You’ll stop chasing experiences and start embodying them. You smell the street food before you taste it. You’ll take time to smile at a stranger. You look up, really look up — at the clouds, the architecture, the soul of a place.
Because somewhere between the constant scrolling and endless striving, many of us stopped looking up — both literally and metaphorically. We’ve become tourists in our own lives, snapping highlight reels instead of living the whole story.
Slow travel invites you to remember that you’re not here to consume the world. You’re here to commune with it.
A New Travel Paradigm — and a New Way of Being
When I talk about slow travel, I’m really inviting you into a new paradigm of living. This isn’t about ditching your smartphone or escaping modern life. It’s about awakening to yourself while moving through the world.
If you’ve spent midlife rediscovering your voice, redefining your purpose, or untangling from the “shoulds” society imprinted on you, then slow travel becomes your mirror.
In this new paradigm, travel isn’t an escape — it’s an extension of your essence. It’s guided by your authentic personality, not a tourism board’s “Top 10” list. You travel in alignment with who you are, not what culture says you should do.
That’s why I created Spiritual Personality Typing℠ — to help you bridge your outer personality with your inner truth. When you travel from that place, the simple act of choosing a destination becomes an act of soul expression.
Book What’s Your Travel Style to learn how your travel style reflects your spiritual self.
The Antidote to Rushing
Let’s get real — rushing is an epidemic. We rush through conversations, workdays, relationships, even our rest. We’ve been taught that busy equals valuable. But the soul doesn’t move at that speed.
I once overheard a Parisian say, On ne vit qu’une fois– translations; you only live once said with reverence. It made me stop and observe and that’s what I did at Cafe Lateral, 4 avenue Mac Mahon, 75017 Paris, France, and had loooonnngg lunch Slow travel reminds us to live once, well.
Pause. Breathe. Eat slowly. Walk aimlessly. Linger a little longer over your wine. Because when you stop rushing, presence seeps back in — and with it, joy.
This isn’t another slow travel ‘ism ⏤ it’s become a self-awakening tool. Nina
Your Inner Travel Guide
You have an inner travel guide. It’s your soul whispering directions beyond Google Maps. When you travel with this intenton every journey becomes a classroom for awakening. Maybe the lesson is about patience, boundaries or rediscovering wonder — that childlike awe that got buried under responsibility and routine.
This inner guide is informed by your unique personality type, what I call your inner travel guide. Travel gives Her room to speak. Leave the daily grind behind, and suddenly she’s loud and clear. This is who you are when you’re not performing. This is what lights you up.
The ultimate travel souvenir — self-awareness.
Conscious Footprints
Conscious travel means more than sustainable choices — it’s energetic. Your energy is a presence that leaves a footprint on every place you visit. Do you leave behind kindness, patience, authenticity — or digital distraction and haste?
Each decision becomes a sacred exchange with the world:
Choosing a local café over a chain.
Greeting a local in their own language with Bonjour or Grazie Mille
Slowing down enough to listen, not just hear.
These choices are tiny acts of reverence and gratitude: Being grateful for the place, to learn and grow.
Travel Takeaways
Slow travel is a sacred invitation to remember your truest self, far beyond the noise of daily demands and digital distractions. When you pause and breathe in the spirit of a place, you also breathe into your own forgotten depths.
Every journey is a mirror: as you wander through unfamiliar streets, you often find corners of yourself you left unexplored. Let travel be your guide back home to your soul, not an escape from your reality.
Step into new cultures with intention and humility. Learn a few phrases, smile generously, honor local customs—these are small rituals of respect that transform an ordinary trip into a soulful pilgrimage.
Choosing where and how you travel isn’t about image or external validation—it’s about aligning your experiences with the essence of who you are. Trust your intuition, not a trending destination list.
Allow yourself to linger. Instead of seeking to capture every moment, let moments capture you. Magic happens in unplanned spaces—over a long lunch, an extraordinary conversation, a spontaneous detour.
Travel based on your personality, not what the culture or the travel industry prescribes. Radical self-acceptance is the most luxurious souvenir you can bring home.
Journal Prompt
Promise yourself you’ll look up — from your phone, your plans, your expectations? What beauty did you almost miss?
Dive Deeper
If you want to do more than scroll and roll, these additional videos, podcasts and blogs allow you to explore beyond the superficial. To go deep and integrate what you are learning, hopefully to create new habits and better ways of being. Enjoy
- Watch on YouTube
- Read: How To Unlock Travel Triggers For Your MBTI Type
- Listen to the Podcast with host Marilyn Ball: Speaking of Travel –We Talk Travel Personality
- Read: Why Travel Is The Best Tonic For Self Discovery
- Pick up my debut book: Unpack Your Personality here
A Time for New Beginnings
Are you ready to stand among the rare 15% who truly know themselves? This isn’t about becoming someone new—it’s about returning to the essence of who you’ve always been. In our one-on-one sessions, we’ll gently uncover the patterns that no longer serve you, honor your origin story and the joys that light you up. Will illuminate the map a path back to your original self, the self that feels like home. If your soul is stirring, I invite you to schedule an Awakening Call. In this sacred space, we’ll explore several pathways to self-understanding: identifying the patterns of your true self or we can reveal your unique travel style as a tool for awakening, or illuminate the business gifts only you are here to share.
About Spiritual Personality Typing℠
My goal is to shift perspectives around MBTI® personality typing—to break free from stereotypes and oversimplifications. Remember, your personality type is sacred. Your persona is just a mask.
It’s my intention that you begin to see your archetype as a sacred tool—an expression of your true self.
Of course, good things in life come to those who do the work. Take responsibility and make personality typing, infused with spiritual understanding, a daily practice. You’ll soon realize that your rational self and your soul self rely on each other to ignite a soulful, meaningful life. When you fully embrace this concept, a profound awakening occurs. It moves you closer to your truth, liberating you from a purposeless existence.
You’ll be ready for any occasion, situation, or event—whether it’s travel, relationships, career, passion, or purpose. Ahh, the freedom to live a meaningful life—isn’t that what we all desire?
Who Is Nina Zapala?
I created Spiritual Personality Typing℠ during what I call my “midlife tsunami,” a season of upheaval that stripped away illusions and brought me to truth which taught me; old-school typology only tells half the story. Knowing this, I developed a new paradigm one that unites the soul and self—a committed way of living authentically, unapologetically. The roadmap to your true self.
This is not about “anti-aging rhetoric. It’s about authentic aging—showing up as your truest self, wildly free and unapologetic leaving a legacy that only you can bring to the world.
Here’s what I’ve come to know: Every wrinkle is a story. Every scar, a sacred map. When we deny our true self, the soul withers. When we embrace her, we bloom into timelessness.
P.S. Thank you, Carlo Petrini, for starting a revolution behind the idea of the ‘slow food movement,’ which now augments the slow travel movement.
P.P.S: Savoring a magical slow travel moment enjoying macarons at the infamous Laduree, Paris
Photo Credit: Nina Zapala – Wall Mural in Mobile, AL
