Wandering Away (Because Why Not?)

Remember when we used to wander without needing to post about it? No maps. No plans. You’d leave the house, end up god-knows-where, and somehow still make it home before dinner — no tracking app, no digital footprint, just vibes and maybe a sunburn.

But now? We are all addicted to checklists:

✔️ “Top 10 cafes you must visit”

✔️ “Instagrammable spots in XYZ”

✔️ “Hidden gems (that everyone already knows about, thanks)”

And while I love a cute latte as much as the next person, sometimes the real magic happens when we ditch the plan. No Google reviews. No agenda. No pressure to post. That’s when you stumble upon a cozy little boutique run by someone’s grandma… or a lake so quiet it makes you forget about the 17 open browser tabs on google. Or yes, maybe just find a very aggressive pigeon guarding a dumpster — but hey, it’s a story.

In this world of Zomatoes, Swiggies, and “get it now” culture, we’ve kind of forgotten how to just be. Don’t get me wrong — I’ve spent more hours scrolling through apps than I'd care to admit (the thumb workout is real). But sometimes, we need to log out, zip it and step out.

Our parents still do it — the whole “let’s drive across town to that nursery my friend randomly found” or “I need to go to that old market to print photos for this new frame” (newsflash: you will not find that market online, I’ve tried). There’s something oddly refreshing about going somewhere just because.

And then a few years ago, came Covid — the ultimate uninvited guest that stayed way too long and didn’t even bring snacks. But amidst all the chaos, something interesting happened. Our brains? They snapped. One minute we were watching TV, the next we were googling “how to grow lemons on a balcony,” and somehow we ended up painting that old chipped mug we were this close to throwing away. Boom — now it’s garden decor. 

At first, I thought I was losing it. “Why am I like this?” “Why can’t I focus?” But then it hit me — maybe a wandering mind isn’t broken. Maybe it’s brilliant. It’s how we rediscover the parts of ourselves that got buried under calendars and to-do lists. Hobbies, passions, weirdly specific obsessions, it’s all fair game now.

We’ve gone from autopilot mode to following every curious thought like it’s leading us to buried treasure. And sometimes? It actually does. So yes, I will take up singing at 2 AM. Yes, I will walk down a random alley just to see where it leads. And yes, that chipped cup? It’s now a statement piece.

Wandering — whether it’s in your head or down a side street — isn’t a glitch. It’s the feature.. So let’s romanticize it a little. Let our brain roam. Let our feet follow. Who knows what magic we’ll bump into?