Passport Privilege
Traveling is a privilege. It's expensive, and it's not something any of us should feel entitled to. The cost of privilege is responsibility. I remember times in my life when looking at the travel photos of others was a discouraging experience. The idea of traveling or even taking a vacation was a foreign concept. I distinctly remember feeling then that if I were given the chance to travel more, I’d make the most of it and do it well. Then I started working in hospitality, and gradually, the doors of opportunity opened up for me, allowing me to explore. Thank you, hotel employee rates! I'm incredibly grateful to have had experiences around the world.
What I soon learned on those earlier adventures is that destinations are like books with pages of lessons for us to read. It's up to us how we let those stories shape us. We need to be unselfish with those lessons and apply them to our lives at home. I carry a personal responsibility to use what I've learned and try to remain aware of how it's shaping my character. I say this because many of us get stuck at the privilege part and don't move beyond photos and celebration to live with a new awareness of how the world actually is. If you desire to travel more, I want you to consider the following:
When it comes to travel, we have a primary responsibility to ourselves to be inspired by what we've experienced. Travel should refine and make us into better people.
My family and I thoroughly enjoyed our recent visit to Iceland. I hope that as a family we can appreciate that peace is more than theoretical; it's a baseline reality in Iceland. It’s arguably the most peaceful country on planet Earth. We have experienced a country in the world with a high level of education, little evidence of poverty, and a country powered by the geothermal power boiling underneath it. The people of Iceland have also developed a healthy hospitality-based economy. These standout accomplishments have all been achieved in a nation where the mother tongue is not English. While many of them speak it, English isn't the be-all and end-all to success. This last observation about language has been both subtle and profound for my English-speaking life since I first started traveling. Sitting at a foreign table and recognizing that they do things better than you is healthy for your soul!
I also hope we have the wisdom to recognize that the history of this country is different than our own and we need to carve out our own path. The people of Iceland have also had to overcome challenges that we don't grapple with; for example, we don't live near the threat of volcanic explosions. The country also faces significant growing pains as it constantly hosts visitors from around the world. I was told by a local in Iceland that the tourism industry has boomed and doubled in size since we first visited in 2015. But overall, the growth in the visitor economy has opened doors for Iceland. My hope for my own province is that we continue to look for opportunities to welcome and host the world in Alberta.
This trip will continue to spark our curiosity about how a society can function if we can cultivate the imagination to do so. We have seen how it can work and experienced it firsthand.
On the other end of the spectrum, I have visited economically disadvantaged countries, and that experience has also impacted my perspective on the world. When one is ready, it's worth getting up close to one of these countries, not to gawk or to volunteer a small offering of charity, but to gain an understanding that the world isn't working well for everyone. This kind of realization will forever inform the way you see your life at home. Often, the reasons that the world isn't working for those who live in developing nations start back at home with a cheap cup of coffee or a chocolate bar. Guilt and anger will not make a difference for those outside our borders. An experience like this needs to shape a person, not snap them. Getting angry at those who make foolish comments, such as "Canada is broken," won't help either. Someone who hasn’t experienced what we have seen around the world may not understand the exaggerated inaccuracy of this line of thought, and we need to be patient. Though you will want to get them to give their heads a shake. I know I do.
Reshaping our values to be more compassionate with deliberate action is the way forward. I've written about a photo I took decades ago that still impacts how I see the lives of those living across different borders. The faces of those in developing countries should influence the decisions we make in Canada.
If travel isn't your thing, that's ok. I think about this often when planning an adventure by airplane for my family. You can still live a values-based life if you've cultivated a healthy imagination that has vision for a world that works for everyone. As a husband and dad, I hope my family can develop and maintain a deeper appreciation for the peace that we have here in Canada. Peace is precious, and I am anxious at times that we're becoming careless with it. Once it's broken, it isn't easy to restore. I see this more clearly any time I've returned with a different stamp on my passport.
My hope is that travel continues to shape our character in ways that help us appreciate the beauty and complexity of the world around us.
Anyway, thank you for reading, my friend. I'd love to hear about where you'd like to travel next! I am also curious about how travel has changed you.