“Travel isn’t about going far. It’s about sitting still long enough to come back to yourself.”

I was tired that day. Not just from walking, but from life. I had taken this solo trip hoping to feel something, anything, again. But so far, all I felt was… empty.

Then I found a bench by the sea.

It was just an old bench. The paint was coming off. One of the wooden pieces was broken. But the view? The sea was big and blue, the wind was soft, and the sky looked like it was getting better.

So I sat.

At first, I checked my phone. No signal. Good.

I let it go and just sat there, listening to the waves, watching an old fisherman untangle his net, smiling at a little boy chasing seagulls with happiness in the face.

Something shifted in me. Quietly. Slowly. Like the sea whispering, “You’re okay. You’re still here.”

I didn’t visit a famous place that day. I didn’t take a single photo. But I’ll never forget that bench.

Because sometimes, travel isn’t about going far. It’s about sitting still long enough to come back to yourself.