A Dichotomy of Travel

I'm going to mention this a lot at this blog, but travel is good for you. Your mind expands from the onset of new sights and sounds, and from adapting to new situations. If you've never left your home state, then it's time to cross that line. If you haven't left your country, then take the first step out, and get yourself a passport. Few things can help you grow, and give you such an education, as seeing the world beyond your doorstep.

Saying all that, there's a certain dichotomy to travel. You'' see this on your first international voyage, especially if you go by air, and travel far. It's an 18 hour flight from New Jersey to India, and 24 hours to Australia. That's a long time to be sitting in a tiny seat, trying to sleep as the air gets staler and your internal clock starts to lose confidence in what time it is. Get a window seat, and make sure you look outside once in a while. The world is a big place.

Passing over the top of the planet, you see miles, and miles, and more miles, of nothing but black dirt and occasional ice. Pass over the middle east, and it can take hours to cross nothing but desert, with the occasional oasis or oil field to break the monotony. Fly to Japan or Hawaii, and there is so much ocean spread before you, that it takes hours to cross. The earth is a truly big place when you see it in this manner.

However, and here's teh dichotomy, you land. At the airport, you see a few familiar thigns, such as currency exchange, and long lines of people. Some airports can appear quite foreign, but if you get out into a big city, you may find yourself staring at a McDonald's, or a Citibank, and several other familiar landmarks. You stop at a market, and there are familiar fruits, candy bars, and of course, Coca Cola. Suddenly, it seems like it's a small world after all.

That will change, of course, if visiting a truly foreign country, but the thing is, we're all people. Go into a restaurant anywhere, and there will be kids eating treats, young couples laughing, older folk in the corner with their coffees... and people in general trying, just like you, to get by in life.

Remember that flight, and looking out that window. Keep that humbling experience of seeing just how big the planet is. But don't forget that its getting smaller every day, perception-wise. And get out there, and see it now, because its changing, and changing fast.

Thanks for visiting, JOHN :0)

PS For a travel illustration, we turn to my first book, Take Me Away From All This!! for today's 'small world' moment. Please click on the image to enlarge.