Where To Next?
When I was growing up our family traveled a lot. Long before VRBO, we swapped homes with a family in Germany for a month two summers in a row. My Dad always said, “travel is part of your education” and we learned a lot over the years. We were always thinking about the next destination. We traveled to places near and far. Learning about the place and its people was a non-negotiable with my Dad. Whether it was learning about the lobsterman in Maine, the chef in Barbados or the shopkeeper in Dinkelsbuhl, we can recount stories about our family trips and the people we met along the way. Luckily for me, I married someone who also loves to travel, and we have also nurtured that in our three children. The sign above hangs in our family room and it a question we ask before we even return home from a trip. Our eldest son has a lofty goal of visiting more countries than his age. Due to our extensive travel while living in Asia, at 23 years of age he has a 5-country buffer.
Long distance travel was not an option during the pandemic, but during that time we were able to get to know our own part of the world in a way we hadn’t yet. I learned about trails I never knew existed that were walking distance from my home. It struck me that if we were as observant about our surroundings in our locality as we are when we are in unfamiliar places, we would see it as all equally amazing. Sure, there may not be the Grand Canyon right outside your door, but there are natural wonders everywhere if you look for them. Last winter during a particularly brutal cold snap, I found ice in the shape of hearts 8 times in a 10-day stretch. Once I found one I started to see them everywhere.
The natural wonders of the world, like the Grand Canyon or Lake Michigan, and travelling to different places help you internalize how small we are in relationship to the world we inhabit. Not only are we small compared to the ocean, but we are also only one of over 8 billion people in the world. When you travel you see that while they may do it differently, people all over the world celebrate weddings, graduations, championships, and birthdays. They celebrate with food, art, music, and rituals. They suffer tragedies, economic hardships, and death. The rituals may be unique, but the emotions are human. No one can escape the human condition regardless of where they live or what they believe. Travel — whether to another town or another country — simultaneously shows you the differences and the similarities with the people who live there.
We recently traveled to Colombia and while there we met a tour guide who took us to the Salt Cathedral of Zipaquira. This is an underground Catholic church, built within the tunnels of a salt mine 200 meters underground. The cathedral represents a cultural, environmental, and religious patrimony for the Colombian people. I had no idea this place existed. Our tour guide was a young Colombian woman who studied architecture in Italy. She is extremely knowledgeable about her country and is a devout Catholic. The tour she gave us through the stations of the cross -carved into a salt mine by human beings- was one I will never forget. People created an underground CATHEDRAL out of salt for their faith. I had absolutely no idea of this human and natural cathedral and now because this young woman shared her knowledge of her own country with us, it’s all I can think about. I was 200 meters underground looking at a human interpretation of the events of Jesus’ last journey made of salt. Back home a few days later, on a blustery cold day, I went to Lake Michigan with bunch of other crazy humans and jumped in the freezing cold water. When humans are together they are crazy and amazing regardless of where they are.
The Rabbi Simcha Bunim from the 19th century is credited with saying. “Everyone must have two pockets, with a note in each pocket so that she can reach into one or the other depending on the need. When feeling lowly and depressed, one should reach into the right pocket and there fine the words “The world was created for, me” But when feeling high and mighty one should reach into the left pocket and find the words “ I am but dust and ashes” There are times to celebrate our uniqueness and times when we must recognize our smallness. When you are constantly thinking where to next, you are reminding yourself there is so much out there to see and experience every day. There are so many people you have yet to meet who can change your day and your life. You don’t have to travel far to see amazing things and meet amazing people.
May 2023 be a year of amazing discoveries. Happy New Year.
