Lessons and ideas have the virtue of being ageless and timeless. They apply to everyone, from millennials to baby boomers, who is dedicated to lifelong learning, whether they are aware of it or not. They also support a finding I've come to in my own wanderings over the globe: that travel can not only make us better people, but can also contribute to the improvement of the entire planet.

The expression “finding our place in the world” implies that in order to make room for the world and our place within it, we must first be rooted in who we are and the values we uphold. Not being rigid or inflexible is the goal. Instead, understand that self-awareness better positions us to acknowledge and respect similarities and differences. This also suggests that you shouldn't simply accept whatever opinions come your way. Instead, think critically, question heartily and consciously adopt new perspectives and practices as you test the ones you currently hold. Travel, particularly the sort that emphasizes engagement and participation in favor of consumption, can develop our creative and adaptive instincts. Even after all the places on earth are discovered, the possibility of authentic, meaningful experience is infinite if we're smart enough to recognize that it's up to us to search ever more deeply for it.

Today, a number of travel & experiential learning companies have made great progress helping people learn the most spiritual and amusing ways. This edition is dedicated to such service providers who have essentially enabled learning along roads untraveled.