It’s that time of year when lots of us are heading off on holiday.

Suitcases are being packed, passports are being checked, and people are looking forward to a few days or weeks away from their usual routines.

I’ve recently been on holiday and since coming home I’ve been thinking about what we actually bring back with us from a holiday.

Of course, there are the obvious things. Photos, souvenirs, perhaps a few things we bought that we probably didn’t need.

But sometimes, we bring home something a little less tangible.

A different perspective.

When we’re away from our usual surroundings, our routines change. We experience different places, different people and different ways of doing things. We might find ourselves trying something new, slowing down, or simply having more time to think.

And perhaps that’s why travelling can sometimes make us think differently about our own lives.

When we’re caught up in everyday life, it can be difficult to step back and really notice how we’re feeling. We’re busy with work, relationships, responsibilities and everything else that needs our attention.

But when we’re away, some of those things are temporarily put on hold.

We have space.

We might find ourselves thinking about things we haven’t had time to think about at home. Perhaps we realise how much we’ve been missing someone. Perhaps we notice how much we enjoy having time to ourselves. Or maybe we start questioning whether we’re happy with something in our everyday lives.

I’ve often heard people say that travelling has made them realise they want to make a change.

A new job. A different lifestyle. More time with family. Trying something they’ve always wanted to do.

But perhaps travelling doesn’t necessarily change us.

Perhaps it simply gives us enough distance to notice things that were already there.

When we’re away, we’re also often more curious. We notice things we might normally walk past. We pay attention to our surroundings. We try new things. We might even be more open to meeting people and having conversations with strangers.

There is something about being somewhere unfamiliar that encourages us to look at the world differently.

So what happens when we come home?

The suitcase gets unpacked. The washing gets done. The alarm goes off for work again.

And gradually, we slip back into our usual routines.

But perhaps we don’t have to leave everything we experienced on holiday behind.

Maybe we can bring some of it home with us.

Perhaps it’s the reminder to slow down. To spend more time with the people we care about. To be more curious. To try something new. Or simply to make more space for ourselves.

We don’t need to make a huge life change just because we’ve been away.

But I think it’s worth paying attention to the things we thought about while we were there.

What did you enjoy?

What did you miss?

What didn’t you miss?

And perhaps most importantly, what did you discover about yourself that you might want to bring home?

Sometimes, the best souvenir from a holiday isn’t something we can put in a suitcase.