Fourth Form of Madness

Travelling is all about expanding yourself.  It often reminds us constantly to let go and accept what comes your way as you embrace and celebrate different ways of doing things and different ways of seeing the world.  One of the most valuable qualities I believe travel promotes in us is a realisation that we rely on a good many people to exist and operate in this world and that at some point we need to trust in others to make the world work.  Of course, if you have watched any of the Wolf Creek movies this may be a lot harder for you.

Right from the start you are deeply emerged in a world of trust.  From the moment you park your car at the airport or take a cab (see I’m getting very American these days)  – you are relying on others. You are relying on the airport carpark attendants to look after your car or on the cab driver to get you to departure on time and in one piece.  You board the plane, you are reply on the pilot and the cabin crew to take care of you and to get you to your destination in one piece and for your fellow travellers to leave at least a cm of overhead luggage space for you to store the 30 kgs of items that you couldn’t  fit into your suitcase that you have managed to smuggle past the ground crew.  Then you rely on your fellow travel buddies to not steal your inflight pillow or blanket, not to snore, not to talk incessantly about the latest series of The Bachelor and to flush the plane toilet properly so at 3am somewhere over the Atlantic Ocean you are not greeted with a sight and smell that will have you in counselling for the next 12 months.

When you land you are then greeted with a barrage of would be supposedly easy normal everyday actives that have somehow gotten a whole lot more difficult in the last 24 hrs.  Take ordering breakfast in the USA, a fairly ordinary task.  Suddenly I am lost in a world of a waitress reciting my 20 choices of how to have my eggs – none of which I understand. I feel like I am at Subway where every usual mundane item you order now comes with 20 life changing decisions for you to make.  I have to rely on her recommendation for just about everything I eat.  As a side note, I would like to thank all the waitresses and waiters I must have already annoyed in the States.  You are amazing and deserve big tips for all your hard work and hospitality.  How you can keep smiling and laughing when I ask for the 5th time to go through my list of choices is beyond me.

Then there is the mammoth leap of faith in your fellow human beings that is required when you arrive at one of the USA intersections that has a four way stop sign.  Yes you heard me a four way stop sign – let me break that down for my Aussie peeps.  Each side of the intersection has a stop sign.  This means that you need to be aware of who got to their stop sign first as they have the right of way to go (umm if I have this wrong you can just imagine the mayhem hubby and I have been causing on the roads over here so far).  From what I have observed up to this point, this creates a somewhat total state of confusion in all drivers involved and pretty much everyone just stops and is unsure of who is going to go first.  If driving on the wrong side of the road wasn’t challenging enough and remembering to get into the correct side of the car – there is now the four way stop sign just to keep things fresh.

Then there is the everyday interaction with the locals that builds on your ability to trust each other and with the Americans you are in really good hands.  I have been to the States three times now.  To Washington and Virginia when I was 21, to Houston only a few years back and now this time where we have already driven (perhaps causing a wave of mayhem in our trail) through California, Nevada and Arizona.  In all these States I have found the same thing.  Americans are really friendly and helpful people who seem to have strong moral code.  I really love them.  I sneezed in the Bagel Cafe we went to breakfast this morning and was greeted with a “God bless you” before I had even managed to reach for a tissue.  Whilst waiting in a line that appeared to have no end at a popular buffet in Las Vegas, my husband and I were given the buffet highlights and tips from a lovely couple in front of us that had been to this buffet before.  They even wished us a happy buffet experience.  Later when I was struck mute and motionless in the midst of a thousand people and even more calories, the husband of the couple saw me and led me towards the famous crab claws and even showed me the much coveted and closely guarded secret of how to get them steamed.

The trust that travel builds in us is invaluable in a world that often presented to us as cold, hard and uncaring.   This can build fear and mistrust of our fellow human beings and really help to manifest a feeling of isolation and aloneness.  Fear and feelings of isolation and aloneness sell a lot of products and insurance policies.  We need to constantly question this belief.    In all my years of travelling all over the world I have many, many, many times had to rely on the kindness of strangers and they have not let me down.  The world is filled with kind, caring and generous people that will help you and you them.  That is how the world works best.  All in harmony and balance, each contributing your natural talents.  It’s time to review the competitive model that has silently crept into our lives and started to dominant often without our consent. It is becoming an outdated and an anti-social concept that is limiting our very existence.  Through yoga I have been lucky enough to have been told a lot of people’s life stories.  Each time I am struck by the key thing that gets most people through some really tough times.  It’s more often than not the support given by other people.  I am very encouraged by this and always deeply moved.

Nothing is more beautiful than the kindness we can show to each other, particularly to people we do not know.  This is why travel is so important, it gives us a chance to trust deeply and openly even when we might be feeling a tad exposed or vulnerable and it gives us a chance to receive and give kindness often on a daily basis.  These are great attributes to practice.  There is a real truth in one of my favourite quotes I read a long time ago and I will leave you with this now….”We are all one winged angels that must embrace each other to fly”.