I am often told that I should go travelling, that it would be good for me and I would love it. It is ever so popular lately that my ego rejects the idea on the basis that I don’t like doing things everyone else does! I have no doubt that it would expand my mind as all experiences do but you have to wonder, exactly how good is all this travelling for the planet?
I read an article a while ago in the Resurgence magazine which told about how our incessant need to pilgrimage to sites of spiritual awakening has led to many sacred sights being irrevocably damaged.
This habit of travelling for wisdom reminds me of the Buddhist who needs isolation in a monastery to maintain his vows and peace of mind. The real challenge is surely to be a monk in the city? Pushing a 9-5 with the rest of us. Not only is it a challenge but it is a life affirming lesson in individuation.
So, you went travelling? How long did your new found mentality last? How long before you wondered when you could go travelling again to feel that way once more?
I believe that not only does our habitual travelling for wisdom erodes our planet but it also erodes our ability to find the lessons in our daily life and hold these experiences in the light (a phrase used often by Quakers to mean seeing the divine in everything). It supports an idea that the things worth seeing aren’t right under your bloody nose! Why does something moving have to happen in another country? Why does something expand our mind only when it is totally foreign to us? What about the wonderful subtleties found in the strangers on a train? What of the changeable weather and sunsets?
To associate foreign worlds with spiritual wisdom is to further justify the basic disconnect we have in the western world with our true wishes, desires, hopes and dreams. All of which have been scewed to suit a society that pushes everyone to early graves due to over indulgence and broken hearts.
So please, don’t go travelling for wisdom before you can see the divinity beneath your nose.
Namaste
Recent Comments