In this fast-paced world of high-speed rail and air transport, we often feel our bodies traveling thousands of miles a day, while our minds remain stagnant. Travel should be a journey of the soul, not merely a geographical shift. However, for many, the journey is just a change of coordinates for the body, while the soul has not stepped into a new world even once.

Travelers can be divided into two types: one is the dualist of body and soul, who moves physically but not mentally; they are merely tourists, exercising their bodies and feasting their eyes. The other is the idealist, who prioritizes the experience of the soul. Even if the scenery is unremarkable and the journey is not smooth, they can evoke emotions from the landscape, immersing themselves in it, contemplating philosophy and poetry. Especially for those writers and painters who seek inspiration and sketch, they emphasize that the journey of the soul is superior to the movement of the body. The concept of "lying travel" in Chinese landscape painting may be the ultimate experience of this aesthetic journey of the soul.

As the cost of travel in reality continues to rise, especially during the peak of the Golden Week in October, in addition to the fatigue of travel, there are also high prices for accommodation. People turn to watching travel videos at home for virtual travel, but this is merely compensatory and auxiliary travel, unable to replace the real travel experience of being emotionally connected to the mountains and rivers, forgetting oneself in the world.

Virtual travel videos are enhanced with filters, making them beautifully unreal. However, truth, goodness, and beauty must first be true. Without truth, great beauty does not exist. Therefore, no one points at the landscapes in the videos and exclaims, "Wow, what beautiful mountains and rivers!" Just like the difference between attending a live concert and listening to music at home, even with very professional, audiophile-level sound systems.

Now with GPS, electric cars, and extensive road and rail transport, if there is no budget for long-distance travel, one can still embark on a spontaneous trip within 200 kilometers. Go to a place within this 200KM radius that you have never been to, capturing the experience freely and sharing this authentic experience with friends and family. A nearby place can also provide us with a travel experience. Every flower represents a world; both body and mind are in motion, and there are insights to be gained.

Escape the digital space, wander in the refreshing autumn breeze of October, forget the pressures and anxieties of life, and enjoy the freedom amidst the realistic mountains and rivers...

What does it feel like to float? A virtual traveler.

Perhaps virtual travel is closer to the truth of life as described in Zhuangzi's butterfly dream.

We are all travelers on Earth. The whole world may just be a virtual game of advanced civilization, and we are characters in the game. A game is a dream, and dreaming can perfectly achieve self-narration across time and space. We traverse between reality and dreams, lying on the sofa in the digital space created by humanity, walking through various realms with the swipe of our fingers. When the screen goes black, the immense loss of self, even a black hole, sucks away our spiritual energy like a Martian storm vortex, leading us to sink deeper into narcissism, becoming increasingly addicted to the various illusions and temptations presented by the internet.

We have become enamored with virtual travel while remaining still at home, not only watching others' videos but also using photo editing software to change travel destinations, altering outfits, skin tones, and hairstyles for check-ins. "Eight thousand miles of clouds and moon," as long as we are willing, we can surf the internet to any famous mountains and rivers, or even take a spacewalk, or frame ourselves with a dragon entering the sea.

However, these are all dreams within dreams, even less real than travel.

More people are traveling through a flat screen with their fingers, and their spirits are increasingly trapped in loneliness and dependency.

Perhaps, in a few decades of rapid development in life engineering, humanity can truly leave behind the physical body and upload consciousness. All grounded travel will no longer be necessary; only a stream of consciousness and thought travel will be needed. I think of that time when humanity will completely seal itself in chips, confined in another new era of creation within dreams!

God created this beautiful and bright world, while humanity is moving towards sealing itself and navigating the dark world.

During this Golden Week, how do you plan to start your journey? Escape, arrive, or continue to experience the bright and real world?