Through travel I first became aware of the outside world; it was

Eudora Welty, the great voice of the American South, once reflected on her own becoming with these words: “Through travel I first became aware of the outside world; it was through travel that I found my own introspective way into becoming a part of it.” This statement is not simply the recollection of journeys taken by train or road—it is the confession of a soul awakening, of a mind discovering that the path inward is revealed only after one has dared to step outward. In her words lies the eternal truth: to know oneself, one must first encounter what lies beyond.

The first wisdom here is that of the outside world. For many, life begins within the narrow confines of family, home, and familiar surroundings. But Welty reminds us that true awareness does not flower until the mind is confronted with other places, other faces, other ways of being. Travel expands the soul by revealing the vastness of creation, showing us that our private world is but one note in a much larger song. By stepping outside, she first awakened to the immensity and diversity of life.

Yet her words hold a paradox: though travel brought her to the world, it also sent her inward. This is the mystery of the journey—outward movement often leads to introspection. In the faces of strangers, one sees reflections of oneself. In the strangeness of foreign lands, one discovers the boundaries of one’s own heart. Welty found that by meeting the world, she also began to meet herself. The road was not only a bridge outward, but a mirror inward.

History too bears witness to this pattern. Consider Saint Augustine, who wandered from Carthage to Rome to Milan, chasing fame and pleasure. Yet it was in the midst of these wanderings, seeing the outside world in all its glory and disappointment, that he was driven inward to his own confessions and, finally, to faith. Or consider the travels of young Siddhartha, who walked beyond his father’s palace walls and saw sickness, old age, and death. Those glimpses of the outside world ignited the journey inward that led him to become the Buddha. In both cases, the outward opened the gate to the inward.

Welty’s reflection also honors the mystery of becoming “a part of it.” For it is not enough to merely observe the world from a distance, to treat travel as a spectacle. One must allow the encounter to change them, to weave their own life into the greater fabric. Welty shows that through journey and reflection, she did not remain apart but became a participant in the shared story of humanity. To travel is not merely to consume experiences but to be claimed by them, to take one’s place in the chorus of the world.

The emotional power of her words lies in their humility. She does not claim mastery of the world through travel; rather, she admits that she only began to understand herself in relation to it. This humility is the mark of wisdom: to know that the journey is not about conquering lands or collecting experiences, but about being opened, softened, and shaped by what one sees.

The lesson is this: do not shrink from the world beyond your walls, nor imagine that self-knowledge can be found without it. Step outward, and let the outside world challenge and transform you. But do not stop there—turn inward as well, and allow the encounter to reveal who you are and who you are meant to be.

Practical counsel follows: seek journeys that stretch you, whether near or far. Meet strangers, learn their stories, listen to the wisdom of other lands. But also take time for introspection—journal, reflect, meditate—so that what you have seen in the world becomes part of your soul. For as Welty teaches, only when the outward and inward journeys are joined can one truly become “a part of it,” both self-aware and world-aware, both individual and participant in the great human story.