Philophically speaking, have your travels changed the way you view life? What changes have you made to your lifestyle and thinking patterns, since you got home?
To get the conversation going....
I've just returned and feel that I need and want less material possessions.
If I feel I am being over charged or not getting a friendly thankfully smile for my custom I will walk out of a shop/restaurant etc etc. This is not because I demand these common courtesy's, it is because there is always some out there who will appreciate my custom. This probably comes from seeing people who have basically nothing, being overjoyed at the slightest bit of business put there way.
I will definitely get less stressed about situations and this my girlfriend had noticed before we got home. If you miss a bus, there is always another one... Why stress? I feel I would apply this to all matters that are beyond my control or something I just cant do anything about.
I'm sure there are more, I just cant be too stressed about thinking about them! ; )
Reply to this one thing i learned about traveling is to appreciate everything around me, even the smallest ant or the falling leaf..whenever I'm away from home, i realized the importance of my family, my friends and the people that are always 'just there' and i sometimes took for granted.
Another thing too is if I want to enjoy the day, I will condition myself that whatever I encounter it'll never ruin my day. It's just mind over matter 😉
Reply to this I've just returned and feel that I need and want less material possessions.
Another thing too is if I want to enjoy the day, I will condition myself that whatever I encounter it'll never ruin my day. It's just mind over matter 😉
Why stress? I feel I would apply this to all matters that are beyond my control or something I just cant do anything about.
These are ways in which my mind set has changed too, because of travel. Though, I am not so sure if I succeed in the avoiding getting stressed, even when I dont think many things are worth getting stressed about.
Reply to this I can still remember the impact my first overseas trip had. My parent's took us to Borneo when I was 9 and it was a bit of a culture shock from small town Australia. My second big trip was 4 months round the world when I was 14 again with my parents, brother and sister - and I remember seeing the poverty in Mexico City and Cuba especially. Zimbabwe (where my family is from) and South Africa also had a huge impact on me and I came back from that trip obsessed with Bob Marley and Nelson Mandela, I joined the Charity Committee at my school and inequality and human rights were my high school causes.
I think those trips led me to my current career in International Development and also fueled my desire to see more of the world. I would say that travel has probably been one of the greatest influences in my life.
I agree with all of the above regarding material possessions, and the only other random change I have had is that if anyonecan't understand me (ie. they don't speak English) I speak to them in Spanish. It doesn't matter which country I'm in, or if I know they can't speak Spanish, I just can't help it!
Lara
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