Travel gives perspective. I don’t mean the all inclusive trip to Cancun or Cruise to the Bahamas in a floating hotel kind of travel. Those are fun and a nice, comfortable way to see the world. Maybe somewhere in between backpacking across Europe for your Senior Summer and moving to another country. I call it adventure traveling. You get on plane with a language phrase book, a map and couple of spots that look interesting in mind.
This floating ball of mud is full of wonder. There are sights that will fill your soul everywhere, if you bother to look. The next life changing event probably doesn’t include fruity drinks with little umbrellas on a beach. If you want to change your life, travel to Central America, with a suitcase full of sandals and coloring books. Take a train to no where. Stop early in the afternoon and go to the local store to buy some sweets. Maybe a soccer ball. When you walk through the village, start passing out your goodies.
For the rest of you life you will take that trip in your head again. Touched by the poverty that couldn’t stop the smiles. Laughing with children who don’t speak you language as you kick a ball down a dirt street. You will remember the taste of the stew from the community kitchen better than the finest meal. That little book in your back pocket isn’t really your passport. It’s your birth certificate.
The New Word Wars 