Give and take.
The world is made up a fine balance of give and take. You give some advice, a helping hand, donated clothing or furniture to someone who needs it. You take someone’s old books, support when you need it and life lessons as you travel through space and time. It keeps the world on its axis. It makes us all go round. It’s the delicate balance we have become more mindful of not disrupting so we can maximise the beauty and time of this planet we call home.
Exploring this space and travelling from place to place requires the same balance. The same give and take.Give a smile to someone you’ve never met and make their day – whether you’re in your home city running to work or trekking the Incan trail. Take a picture and keep the memory for yourself forever. Give an extra tip to a cafe worker and make a difference for them and their family. Take the information of a fellow traveller and make anew lifelong friend. Give pencils, notebooks and stickers to a local orphanage or school. Take the warmth of knowing you made a difference for someone somewhere in the world.
Perhaps I’m delving too deep. But I wanted to paint the real picture of travel. It’s not about time off of work or private beaches and fruity drinks in interestingly shaped glass bowls. It’s about awareness. It’s about curiosity. It’s about facing the reality that everyone lives differently and some struggle on a daily basis. It’s about seeing the struggle, and the simple pleasures others experience in their homes, and gaining a fuller understanding of what your own daily existence means in the bigger picture. We all spend so much time lost in the little pictures of our own lives, that we forget to see how interconnected we all are. We forget to remember the bigger picture that is being painted, each of us just a stroke on the massive canvas. There is something bigger than all of us, no matter how often we forget that notion. The fine balance of all we individually give and take from each other, from the world, makes the collective picture the masterpiece it ultimately becomes.
So give something and take something with every trip you take. Give and take something in your own hometown. Give and take something in each day.
Hold a door and thank someone for holding it.
Ask for directions and offer them to someone lost.
Inhale and exhale.
It’s all about the balance.
I am a work in progress. This blog is a reflection of the places, the experiences, the thoughts, the people and the life that shape the evolution. Though it, too, is a work in progress
Take a closer look at Travel Digressions | Nominate your blog now
