“Travel is a mindset, a lifestyle, a way of being (in) the world” GO Global
This blog is mostly about travel. Our travel philosophy is encapsulated in the above tag-line. It’s a good thing we believe that, because for the foreseeable future, “we ain’t going nowhere”…at least not geographically!
April 2019: We were ending our 4 months of sailing around the globe on a ship surrounded by 800-plus people. We documented that Semester at Sea (SAS) journey to 10 countries on this blog site.
April 2020: We are sequestered in our home, Casa de Paz, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. We don’t venture much beyond our daily neighborhood walks. And, yet, we are connected and content—in part, because we are travelers!
“Yes”: A State-ment of Contentment
A SAS student gave us a high compliment in a recent note, which captures a travel lifestyle. She said, “I love how you have built your lives…balanced, happy, consistent, open—'Yes’ (if ‘yes’ could be an adjective.)”
In many circumstances, and certainly now, we recall the Philippians 4:11 lesson from our Baptist-brined upbringing: “I have learned in whatever state I am in, therewith, to be content.” How do we, as travelers, say, “Yes!” to our current state of geographic grounding? Heart and Art—and the stories they tell!
Both of us enjoy reading—but, Erlene, especially. Every book opens another portal. Being home means more reading time and I serendipitously selected Geography of the Heart from our bookshelves replete with choices. Fenton Johnson‘s compelling, beautifully-written memoir describes his journey with Larry Rose, falling in love and traversing their different, yet converging, worlds. Fenton is the 9th child in a Catholic family from rural Kentucky; Larry is an only child of Holocaust survivors, raised in California. They had three years together—deepened by a shared love of travel, especially France—before Larry died from HIV/AIDS. From the book’s dedication: “Reading is an unsurpassed interactive act, and serious readers among the least acknowledged and appreciated of revolutionaries.” Yes! Reading is a revolutionary, interactive way to traverse the world’s geography of the heart.
Similarly, films/movies provide another vehicle for traveling, whilst home. Watching a film set in places we’ve traveled lets us revisit those scenes and, hopefully, translate the stories in a cultural context. Likewise, watching films set in places we’ve yet to visit amplifies the joy of anticipating new horizons. Social media, in all its forms, when accessed with a balanced attitude, connect us. Media make the world smaller and more vast—whether sailing the ocean or sitting on the sofa.
Traveling at Home through Art
As we’ve shared before, we intentionally make travel part of “everyday” life. Our enjoyment of cooking and wine allows us to taste, smell, and savor some of our travel memories. Our home abounds with remnants and reminders of our travels—both abroad and closer to home. Each room in Casa de Paz has a theme that reflects parts of the world we’ve visited.
For instance, our Kiwi Cozy Breakfast Nook is defined by three pieces by an artist we met in Queenstown, New Zealand. The Ooh La La Guest Room has a Voila theme, with décor from France and similar pieces from both travels and everyday discoveries. The Llama Mama Gallo Room (aka Dining Room) is festooned with artistry from South American travels, including dishes purchased for Larry’s birthday in 2005. The room is guarded by a gaudy gallo (rooster), which held a special place in Erlene’s mother’s home. A colorful tablecloth selected at a silk market in Fez, Morocco makes meals Fez-tive. 😊 Because of our delightful lesson from a Vietnamese tour guide, Funny, the guest hall bathroom is playfully dubbed The Happy Room, blessed by the bubbly Buddha brought from Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon).
Every photo captures a memory. Each art piece has a story. The pottery from many places we’ve traveled reminds of the myriad Earthy connections. While we’re grounded in our home, we can enjoy a gallery that evokes stories, promises new adventures, and solidifies connections.
Joy & Loss; Grief & Gratitude
In traveling, we often make connections, quickly and deeply, with people we may never see again in person. Yet, our hearts are changed indelibly; our worldviews are widened irrevocably—sometimes by a single encounter; other times through a more extended cultural exchange. The physical absence of people with whom we share connection is both ongoing grief and internalized joy experienced by travelers.
Every place we’ve traveled, we’ve encountered social situations and personal stories that bring pain, anger, sorrow. Every place we visit, we’re sad to leave. Our last day in Lima, Peru, the skies erupted with rain, seeming to exude our emotions. Our wonderful guide, Emilcar, with whom we had shared many days, explained that the country was crying and sad to see us go. The Semester at Sea village, when leaving any of the ports and, certainly, dispersing at our final port in Amsterdam, cried an ocean of tears. And, yet, this ocean is necessary in creating salty, joyful, life-sustaining tributaries of travel-home.
Gratitude is the arc that connects our experiences. Amidst this Coronavirus crisis, we are sad about the lack of physical connection, along with delayed or denied experiences. We’re concerned about the crisis, those most drastically affected, and the terrible tentacles of its origins and lasting impact. We’re incensed about the ineptitude, ego, and greed that multiplies this crisis, unnecessarily and immorally. Yet, we are grateful for every element of home; we are grateful for every travel memory, story, and possibility that sustains our spirits. Yes, our days are suffused with gratitude for a way of being (in) the world that connects us, spiritually and socially, through a geography of the heart--even when physically separate.
Pandemic: A Panoramic View for Earth Day
We’re in a pandemic. The Coronavirus is showing us, unequivocally, that the globe is connected. This particular crisis, which is life-threatening, is fed by evil intent and corruption; it is inflamed by pernicious privilege pitted against common good. It spreads through fear and divisiveness: Dis-ease. It conjures pandemonium—which, literally, means an abode of all demons.
What if we translated—actually, redeemed—the deeper meaning of pandemic? Pandemic simply means “prevalent over the world.” In Latin, “Pan” means “All” or “of Everything.” The Latin root of “demic” is “demos” (the same root for democracy), which literally means “among a people.” What if we chose not a pandemic of crisis, but a pandemic of opportunity?
What if, fellow travelers, we recognize and reclaim that we are “All” of “Everything”, connected amongst ourselves? What if we realized that, wherever we are in in the world, we are home to each other and with Mother Earth and Mother Ocean?
This week marks the 50th Anniversary of Earth Day—a time set aside to solidify our connections with and responsibility to our shared planet. What if, beginning now, on this new (Earth) Day, we take a panoramic view of our shared World? What if we channel our travel mindset to say “Yes” to a geography of the heart: Hope, possibility, peace, love, and just healing our home-planet? Wouldn’t that be Pandemic, Ya’ll?!
