Daily Archives: 2008/12/07

I was speaking to a fellow employee last week and the topic of travel came up.  We talked about the cruises that my wife and I had been on and the issue of how travel has changed over the last ten years.  She then said something that kind of got to me.  She said that she will never go out the of the country… not even to Canada or Mexico.

I really do understand the fear that has grown from the threat of terrorism and the possibility of being targeted because you are an American.  This is even more apparent with the recent events in Mumbai and the fact that Americans were targeted.  There is a lot going on out there and there are a lot of people out there that do not care for us as Americans, but is that really a reason to become introverted?

If we turn in on ourselves, then yes, we will lower the possibility that anything will happen to us.  Our families will be safer, our homes will be more secure and there is little chance that anything will happen to us… if we all stay in our comfort zones.

A good friend of mine used to wave this little piece of paper around that talked about how by not taking chances, you do not fully grow and learn.  Traveling to other places, especially those places outside the US, is another way to take chances… not because it is dangerous, because I still believe that international travel is predominantly safe, but because traveling to someplace that is outside your comfort area is a way to learn not just about who you are, but also about the world.

I think that deep inside that there is part of us that is still nomadic… yearning to roam and see what all there is out there.

My advice, for what little it is worth…  Do travel… if you have fears of going to other countries, learn to deal with them and give it a chance.  The point is that you will not know what you are missing by sitting at home and watching the Discovery channel and looking at these places through the lens of someone else’s camera.  You will never get to taste the tastes or smell the smells if you do not get to go to the places yourself.