4 Valuable Connections I Made During My Travel
I love discovering things about the world! I never felt that being in a foreign country was anything intimidating or confusing. I mean, it was more something that I wanted to experience.
And I wanted to connect with people of different cultures. Traveling is important to me, to appreciate the gift of having the freedom to travel, and the inspiration that came from making friends with people around the world.
Understanding that there is a connection between all of us, no matter where we are from, where or how we live, or the circumstances that shape our realities, deepens our gratitude and acceptance of all walks of life. There’s inspiration available in all places and kinds of experiences.
Here are 4 valuable connections that I made and lessons I was taught during my travels around the world that helped shape me into the person I am today:
1. Elephants in Kenya
On my first safari in Kenya, I saw an elephant up close. I remember having this moment where I was looking into this being’s elephant's eyes. I didn't point my camera at her, I was just looking at her. And I felt she was looking at me. I just had this incredible feeling of being moved and being touched.
I became obsessively curious about elephants. And so while I was in Africa, I asked tons of questions and learned as much as I could. I realized that what the elephant represented for me, was this incredible wisdom. And this maternal love, that makes the elephant so remarkably important. The elephant is a manifestation of wisdom and the retaining of memory.
2. Zen Buddhist in Mexico
When I was living in New Mexico, in the early 90s, I went and visited a very wise woman. She was a bodyworker and also a Zen Buddhist. She was telling me while she was working on my body and helping me, she said, “You've got a tremendous amount of pain in your body, a tremendous amount of suffering.” And she was using these hot stones and moving them back and forth.
And I said, “Yes,” and she started to talk to me about meditation. She said, “if you go and if you practice meditation, you can help. It will help you”
She said, "It's very simple." And then she illustrated how simple it was. She said, you just breathe, you breathe in, you breathe out, you breathe in, you breathe out. You give kindness to yourself, as you breathe in, you try to wish yourself well, you breathe out. And there was something about the way she offered that gift that changed my life.
3. Peace in Nature
Africa was probably one of the most transformative places I've been! Because even from the very first time I was there, I felt privileged to be there, that it was a gift to me to be able to be out in the wild, with people teaching me about the wild, about the land, about the animals, about all of it.
One of the revelations I had was how small human beings are in the vast landscape of the world. I mean, we are little dots, and you look at the landscape, and you have this vastness with trees and grasses and all this beauty. And, then a variety of wild animals. It's their kingdom, it's their place, and you're a visitor. You're small in comparison to them. And I loved the feeling that I was all of a sudden, small, and that there was this vastness that I was watching and beginning to understand.
You can feel like your nervous system calms down and gets quieter and more peaceful. I remember that happening in Africa, just looking at that vast landscape. It felt that I would become peaceful, just being there.
4. Humanity and Humility in India
When I went to India, I was astonished at the generosity of spirit despite the dire poverty and deprivation (in some places). So, in other words, you can be generous even when you're as poor as dirt, you know, when you don't have anything. And so there's a level of sort of spiritual understanding and India, I believe, or a sense of the embracing of all humanity, that means there's no relationship to your economic status.
By embracing all of humanity, there’s a sense of well-being within the culture, that accepts all people no matter if their floor is made of gold or dirt. And to witness the humility of spirit and the generosity of the culture was very moving to me to see that.
No matter where you have been in the world, you’re likely to find people who are more similar to you than you might imagine at first glance. What connects us is more than what meets the eye on the surface. By embracing the similarities and differences between us we are drawn together more so than we are divided.
These are just some of the many wonderful connections I’ve made during my travels around the world which have unfolded lessons that have shaped me as a person today.
Which places have you traveled to that have left a lasting impact? What are some of the meaningful connections you made from those places, or people? Leave a comment, I’d love to hear from you!
Photo by Emma Louisa on Unsplash