In autumn, drops of sunlight are metered out for mere moments. During the darkening days of the pending winter, my thoughts turn to sunnier times. Travel to warmer climes is on the horizon. Adventure awaits us in Southern India at the end of December.

During a recent animated presentation, Nick Martin, who ditched his corporate job to engage in adventure travel for the past 14 years, reminded the audience about the healing power of thrusting ourselves into foreign situations. There is nothing quite like being somewhere so far from the “ordinary” that you begin to see the world with new eyes.

According to a recent survey of German travelers conducted by Icelandair (in German), adventure travel is good for us. It is both fulfilling and challenging. It shapes us in ways that forever alter our perceptions. It fosters empathy, compassion and understanding for cultures beyond our own. And perhaps most encouraging, the Power of Slow has started to take form. Nearly three out of four surveyed said their top priority was spending time with friends and family to make memories with them.

While we may not all be situated to see the aurora borealis up close and personal from an Icelandic hilltop, I have witnessed what learning about different cultures can do to people – it is harmful to their prejudices, fatal for their close-mindedness and mortally wounding to their entrenched biases.

Which adventures do you prefer to take?