As travel tech grows ever more refined, the world grows smaller. A journey of a hundred miles once took many days, but we can now travel across the globe in a number of hours. The four corners of the earth are accessible by plane, train, and boat, and there are few pleasures in life as soul-stirring and transformative as travel. And it doesn't have to be far.
In a new place, the simplest of joys can be profound. Our senses take on a new quality because the energy we are immersed in is unfamiliar and entirely novel. Yet the relative ease with which we can step out of our own culture in order to explore another, means that we are ambassadors representing not only our own way of life but also the culture of the traveller. As a conscious citizen of the world, we can choose to add value to the locales we visit while simultaneously broadening our own perspective.
A truly aware traveller sees each new journey as an opportunity to improve relations between two parts of a country or two parts of the world, to spread good things and gain a greater understanding of the world, different places and humanity as a whole. To immerse yourself in another culture (from town, city to country) is to open your mind to a fresh ways of being. A natural curiosity can help us navigate the subtleties that define a different culture. Staying centred is often simply a matter of learning about your destination, being patient with yourself and others, and accepting that people may treat you as an example of your attitudes, history and culture. New worlds open up to us when we take part in the everyday life of a new place--the reality of a destination is in its markets, its streets, and its people.
Travelling presents a wonderful opportunity to practice being open-minded and grounded. The voyages you make can often help cultivate, acknowledge and appreciate our differences as much as recognising and appreciating our similarities. Though you'll return home, the positive impression you leave behind will remain as a testament to the respect and amicability you showed.