Perspective Through Travel

There won’t be true globalization until the “have-nots” can travel/spend/live/communicate just as freely as the “haves.”  Until the world itself has become one of Benedict Anderson’s Imagined Communities.

That doesn’t mean those of you with the resources to read this blog shouldn’t embrace the better aspects of globalization.

• You can go work in India.
• You can learn spanish and tango in Argentina.
• You can climb the Mayan Pyramids in Mexico.

Why don’t you?  Here are the rationalizations that are already swirling in your head:

• I don’t have the money
• I don’t have the time
• I am already planning on doing it in the future/with a friend, but now doesn’t work.

Really?  My philosophy has always been fairly simple – do what makes you happy.  If you genuinely believe you’ll thank yourself for not traveling a decade from now, then who the hell am I to say different?

On the other-hand, if you think, “Yea, maybe I could do it, maybe I don’t have to walk the path more traveled,” then stop what you’re doing and put on your thinking cap.

Ask yourself:

• Where do I want to go?
• What do I want to do?
• What am I good at/what do I have to offer?

The simple truth of the matter is somebody out there wants your skills and it’s up to you to find them.  Consider that even if you get the equivalent of the same job you had at home, you have still come out ahead – because you’re living abroad.  Your friends and family will still be there when you get home, and screw them anyways – you’ll make new ones (maybe not family!).  You’ll meet new people and and have wild experiences that teach you about yourself, and that is what globalization is all about.

Perspective.  Learning about yourself through the eyes of others.

Suddenly those expensive shoes aren’t quite as worth it after you’ve stepped over a body in the gutter or given away loaf of bread.  I am a firm believer that you can’t change what you don’t know or understand, and while you’re out there, remember that forging long lasting connections is what globalization is all about.

Go ride a motorcycle with no helmet down wet roads at unsafe speeds, or base-jump off something incredibly high – just don’t end up saying “I wish” ten years down the road.

And if you do happen to get there, somewhere, wherever it is, tip a tall one for the people still at home and take a second to think about how lucky you are to be you.

Popularity: 5% [?]