Life and love lessons: Things travel has taught me.

“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime.”
― Mark Twain, The Innocents Abroad/Roughing It

As I re-read this post, I will warn you it's somewhat stream of consciousness and unfiltered.  But it's my blog and I'm not changing it so, deal with it. Mark Twain's greatest gift as an author was evoking passion, opinion, and emotion from his readers.

I wonder what Twain would think of how accessible it is to travel and how connected and small our world has become, yet how distant we still are. There are still only a small percentage that view travel as a way to learn, self-awareness and personal growth.

Or what he would think about how polarized, narrow-minded, and opinionated people can be. Yes, I said it. These days it seems that the price of a developed nation is enormous ego and sense of entitlement whether it be possessions, money or simply in what we expect (or even demand) of others. We are bombarded with anger and judgment in our media and online. Everyone has something to say, and dammit, the Internet gives us all a platform -- and we can even be cowardly anonymous if we so choose. I actually heard people complain on Easter Island about the Internet streaming ability and bandwidth. You are 4,500km from the next island or continent, in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, who cares about you being unable to stream the football game.

Many do not take advantage of the opportunity to travel or, if they do, are so afraid of anything different from their comfort zone.  It reminds me of the man I saw pull out a Costco-sized jar of Nutella at a breakfast table in a restaurant at a little beach side hotel in Costa Rica while complaining the menu was not what his family is used to back home. Really? You think? Get over yourself and your crazy jar of spread.  But, I digress.

Back to Twain, his quote and why it compelled me to journal a bit for the world to see...
I love that we are different. That life isn't one homogeneous experience. That in ten hours you can be half way around the world. And in a day you can travel from Canada to South Africa or even Australia. That we can make friends without speaking a word. That we can take a stab at a new language or at least enough words to be polite and get by. That we can learn new things, appreciate another perspective and accept that our way isn't the right way. It's just another option.

I am me in my most raw form when I travel. And frankly, in my opinion, my most beautiful. Not because of the outside with a nice tan and being the foreigner with the dark hair and blue eyes (I have confused many the local), but rather from the inside. I get to be me and, well, Canadian -- weird, quirky, funny, open, and passionate to a fault. And it is one of the only times when that isn't criticized or judged as a weakness and flaw. When I travel abroad, I am able to embrace the things I love most about being me: vulnerable, honest, caring, giving, loving, and spreading kindness without people questioning my intentions or the validity of the very essence of who I am as a person.

There is a tremendously liberating feeling leaving home, in my case, North America. Knowledge, uncertainty and adventure everywhere you look, often much healthier, fresher food and I walk everywhere (always lose a few inches and pounds), and life seems to be at a pace that nurtures enlightenment, no matter the intensity. Sight, sound, smell, taste, and touch are all up for grabs and forever altered.

There is also a feeling of peace and growth every time I return. For me, it's another layer of self-awareness and tolerance. Accepting what you can't control as perhaps not yours to have no matter how much you may wish it was. And I struggle with this a lot. It doesn't mean I care any less, and say screw the world. Or some selfish perspective and some I AM WOMAN love yourself first, self-help crap pushed for the lost and the weak-minded. It's the exact opposite actually, because I loved deep enough to be vulnerable and put my feelings and needs second. How does the saying go? If it is meant for you, it will find its way back to you.

That happened when I came back from Chile this last trip. It broke my heart into a million pieces in a way I never thought possible, and I had to accept the reality of the situation and let go. Every day, I wish it was different, that the story will continue with my version of Serendipity and John Cusack holding a boombox over his head, which in my case, would probably be standing in an African savannah, on a river boat in the Amazon, or some marketplace in some small town, named something I butcher when I pronounce it. I realize it is a movie, and totally not reality. But it's my healing process, so I digress, again.

Back to Twain, his quote and why it compelled me to journal a bit for the world to see...
Then I think about what the lessons traveling has accomplished in shaping who I am. When I travel I find another layer of Christy. The fun, adventure, caring, passionate girl full of love, thirst for learning, life, happiness, and joy in just being alive.  Yes, I am emotional, imperfect, insecure, unsure, and lacking in tact at times.  I am human.

Twain's quote to me means to celebrate our differences. Love without conditions and limits. Stand up for yourself and others. See the best in others. Learn from each other. Be weird. Grow. Evolve. Accept. Push your limits and the limits of others. Laugh...a lot and often and especially at yourself.  Have an opinion and feel and let others do the same without recourse. Seek to understand. Don't have all the answers. And alter your five senses in every way until your passion overflows.

Don't just look for good, BE GOOD. Don't just live life, FEEL LIFE. Tie your hair back, spin the globe, and Travel - Eat, Play, Do.