I recently saw this John Steinbeck quote at the JFK airport:
It immediately resonated with me.
Don't get me wrong -- there are so many destinations that are worth the trip just to see them. I have imagined what Pompei must be like for decades; but walking its streets, like my wife and I did a few weeks ago, has no real substitute. There was so much more of the city than I had realized, so many details and ahead-of-their-time engineering features to see first hand.
You and I could both go on about the countless actual sights this wonderful world of ours has to offer. And yes, that is indeed one of the reasons we like to take people with us to feast our eyes together -- like waking up to the view of a Tuscan valley of vineyards and olive groves, or taking in the vivid green of a Swiss mountain meadow. And not to forget the beauty in our own back yard, wherever that may be.
But that is a one-dimentional view of travel. This world is made up not only of physical wonders and unending beauty; the very definition of culture is how people see the world and what they make of it.
So when I travel, be it to a foreign country or another state, I try to interact with at least a few people. I am by nature an introvert, but if I've learned anything it's that I learn nothing if I don't step out of my comfort zone and interact with other humans.
Every time I do, I come away changed, even in the smallest of ways. Most recently, it was in Northern Ireland as we sought to understand a little of what it was like to live through the tumultuous period known as The Troubles. I tried to imagine what it must have been like to be told to check for bombs on the shelves of the shop where I worked, or to discover that my friend at school couldn't talk to me anymore because my family was Catholic, or Protestant. (You must see the movie Belfast.)
I wanted to understand how the people of today's Northern Ireland identify themselves: do they identify as British, given they're part of the UK? Or do they call themselves Irish? Or both? Would they like to see Northern Ireland reunited with the Republic to form one Ireland? The answer, of course, is it depends whom you ask.
But the changes that result from travel can also be very practical and down to earth. If you spend any time in Europe to speak of and are paying attention, you learn that the Europeans are and have been way ahead of us in North America in their concern for the environment. It reminds me at home to be more mindful about recycling and conserving energy, for example.
One of the most profound effects that travel has had on me is this: I have seen that it is difficult to survive, let alone thrive, in this world with a black and white outlook on life. We live not only in a world full of color but also full of nuance. When there is a truth to be discovered, it usually lies somewhere between two extremes.
How have you been changed as you have ventured beyond your front door? Perhaps your actual destination was not what you set out for. We'd love to hear about it -- just leave your comment below.