Are you a traveler or a tourist?

The late Daniel J. Boorstin is my favorite historian, not only because he gave an accurate portrayal of American history that was unblemished by political correctness, but he was also an engaging writer with a wonderful wit.  The America that Boorstin illuminated is generally hidden from view for most of us because of revisionism and just plain bad scholarship.

Boorstin artfully explains that innovation in America was generally not the product "inspired genius", but a product of practicality.  For example, the modern factory that brings in raw materials and yields a finished product ready for market is an American invention - not because someone saw it as more efficient, but because, unlike Europe, the American colonies were more diffuse and logistically the old European guild system could not work here.  The modern industrial age began with this platform of practicality.  

Up until the middle of the 19th century, foreign travel required planning, a lot of money, a great deal of time, and sometimes risk to life and limb.  Travelers were active, they sought adventure, they pursued the experience.  And then...

Modern railroads and ocean going steamships started to make long distance practical, if not comfortable.  The huge investments in these technologies and infrastructure required that the travel now needed to be sold in large quantities, making it more affordable to the growing middle class.  With the advent of packaged tours the active traveler became the passive sight seer.  Instead of seeking adventure and experiences, the experiences now came to the "tourist."  The pursuit of adventure now became the pursuit of leisure.

If you applied the traveler/tourist metaphor to your life, both personally and professionally, which would you be, a traveler or a tourist?  The old English noun "travel" (journey) was originally the same word as "travail." [Boorstin].  To travel then was something that required labor and was sometimes troublesome - a traveler worked and was active.  Does this sound familiar, kind of like life?

So, which is it?  Do you actively seek adventure, experience, and people...or do you just want those things to come to you?  Are you a traveler or a tourist in your life?