One of the wisest men I have ever met once said, “Travel is the cure to bigotry, intolerance, and racism.” Indeed, you can have plenty of ideas when you never leave your circuit, i.e. home, work, shopping, and places of worship, but how many of these ideas are misconceptions?
Ignorance is painful
It was right after 9/11 (attack on the Twin Towers, Pentagon, and Western Pennsylvania). As I was talking to this individual (who shall remain nameless), he said those attacks were fake because the Twin Towers never existed. I told him I had visited the towers so many times in the past, and even on the countless occasions I went to New York, I saw them. I also had plenty of pictures to show him, in case he wanted evidence, but since he was probably thinking I’m a liar, I kept them to myself.
And never spoke to him again. Ignorance is painful, but I’m afraid it’s contagious, so I’m keeping the distance.
The ultimate voyage
His name is Ronald J. Garan, Jr. and he’s a retired NASA austronaut with a strong presence in social media. On a recent article, he says, “I was a NASA astronaut – I saw Earth from space and realised we’d been living a lie.” By going through not only this article, but also so many more, this is what I have learned from him.
The world is round
I know that! There’s no need to remind me. I saw that in plenty of occasions. You don’t even need to fly to outer space to observe that. Just go on a long boat ride on the sea and you’ll notice that the land behind you begins to disappear, as if it was sinking, but when you come back (voilà) it’s all there!
But so many people disagree with me…
There are no lines
Open a map. Any map. You’ll see lines separating countries, states, cities, et al, but these are imaginary lines. They don’t exist.
There are evidences to the contrary. For example, as a new native, my very first address in the US was near 8 Mile Rd in Southfield, MI. My phone number had area code 248. If I wanted to order pizza from across the street, which was in Detroit with area code 313, I had to dial long distance. Truth be said: I didn’t see any lines on 8 Mile Rd, other than the ones separating car lanes. Was 8 Mile Rd the line? What about the other roads? Were they lines too? Or was 8 Mile Rd built atop the line?
From space, you can distinguish between land and sea, and that’s it. There are no other distinctions. Aside from plants, animals, and other living creatures, we are people. Just people. We may have different accents, opinions, ideas, dreams, skin colors, sexual orientations, political inclinations… the list is endless. That makes us different… but equal at the same time. We’re… people.
Probably the best example that comes to mind is a TV ad from so many years ago. There was a pianist with two pianos. One piano was normal; playing music on it produced music. On the other one, all keys produced the very same tone; playing music on it was utterly boring. The slogan: “Be together. Not the same.”
There’s a very thin layer protecting us from certain death
It’s the atmosphere. How many times a day do we look at the sky and thank the Grand Architect of the Universe for giving us the atmosphere? How many of us know that it’s that ultra thin layer of air that’s giving us the oxygen we need for breathing, and that also keeps our environmental temperature somewhat under control? What are we doing to keep our shield intact?
So maybe, just maybe, our priorities are wrong?
Traveling is not enough
Rudyard Kipling, the English novelist, short-story writer, poet, and journalist says, “Gardens are not made by singing ‘Oh, how beautiful.’ and sitting in the shade.” He’s telling us to take action!
Next time you travel, leave behind your dogmas, preconceived notions, and everything you know. Instead, embark on something new. Learn something new. Meet someone new. Do something new. Repeat!
But if you can’t travel to a different place, go to a place you’ve been before. Guess what? It’s not the same place anymore. Things have changed. Trees have grown, lost their leaves, and grew new ones. Plants died and gave room to others. Animals came in and went away. The people you met may no longer be there, but there will be others.
As I walk on the street, I see someone walking in the opposite direction. I give them a $10 bill and, in return, I get two $5 bills. At the end of this interaction, we end up with the same amount of money we began with.
As I walk on another street, I see someone else walking in the opposite direction. I give them an idea and, in return, they give me another idea. At the end of this interaction, we both end up with new ideas.
And when you don’t travel, remember the words of the Dalai Lama: “When you talk, you are only repeating what you already know, but when you listen, you may learn something new.”