Travel as a practice of expanding consciousness

I remember my first long journey. France, Charles-de-Gaulle, me 20 years or so. Look at everything open-mouthed, trying to think in French (because of the very bad language of thought came out very scanty), MNU in your pocket only a piece of paper 100 Euro all I had for a week-long trip. How many new sensations, idealism, joy. Will never return to the hateful home where Institute, compote and poverty. Better stay here in the promised land, where the chic, brilliance, grassiruyuschey “p” and a hundred euros.

On the street Pigalle (where is the red mill) I saw sitting on the pavement of the Russian-speaking homeless people. Requested alms. Looked very happy. Another would be: to beg for alms with a view on Moulin Rouge! Apparently, they happened about the same situation, with the difference that I had a place to live and a return plane ticket.

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But this is one extreme of idealism and the rejection of all the familiar in favor of new, strange and attractive. Basically, the Russian traveler is the other extreme: the foreign countries are perceived as the zoo, is very beautiful, respectable and unnatural, built exclusively to meet them. I thought calling it the “Egyptian syndrome”. This is when you live in the territory of hotel (resort, tourist part of town), and the impression of the country was formed there. There many tourist reviews about Egypt and Turkey contain a modicum of truth about real life people in these countries? Usually tourists do not care. Warm, tasty, and bringing in to show the sights, the staff speaks in Russian, all inclusive. What else is needed?

A typical Russian tourist can be recognized by lack of English (or wildest accent, which fasting played out in Hollywood movies, such as “Demetrius, vear from may vodka?” ) as well as relation to a foreign country as to the resort, where everything happens only for the traveler, pleasure. In Egypt and Turkey – beaches and white sand in Europe – toy houses, washed with shampoo, cobbled streets and Beaujolais Nouveau, and so on. In General, all what then you can tell your friends to return to the dirty home, where they work, loans, speak in normal language and all of the people.

Maybe that's why many puzzling Israel, which cannot, and not particularly anxious to conceal from tourists to everyday life. A block of gray apartment buildings, soldiers on the streets, security on every corner... Where the story, the sweet life, where what we don't have? For the sake of it, perhaps, from the reality left??

Interestingly, when I travel a lot around the world, the glittering feeling of novelty is lost, even in countries which still have not been. It's like infatuation: it passes quickly, and either evaporated altogether, or develops into something much more deep and calm. I had just that. Travel take great pleasure, but do not cause the oppressive feeling of novelty. In the end, people everywhere are about the same. Change of skin color, languages, scenery, culture, nature, the appearance of cities, but the human essence remains the same. What else is there to ride, not for the sake of communication? With people, cities, nature..?

Valuable acquisition, I believe a deep understanding, even the mind and the senses – all that nonsense that we impose on the media and subject them to the influence of the people, all the hatred, which is trying to foment between people, Nations and races – incredibly empty thing. Ephemeral, not having the slightest sense, but damn meticulous when it comes to vulnerable brains.

Another thing – affection. Here is all the Buddha said and the company I to say and nothing to add. People in principle tend to feel some sort of side, even imaginary ones. Someone who out of principle do not travel to the East – in Asia, because there “mentality is not the same and dirty.” I've never been, this can be said especially surely. Someone does not want the West, because it's boring, capitalists and spirituality present. Someone recognizes exclusively the tropics, because the winter in the homeland had seen. And someone never set foot in the post-Soviet countries – and sadly in General, does the home have enough. It seems to be – to each his own, what trailer?

But it's all affection, unfounded the division into friends and foes. The concept of “their” when it came to one village, then one region, country, religion, now in some cases includes other countries. A little to expand to the entire planet? Not to leave the slightest space for “strangers”, even remove them as a class? It's hard. To live without enemies at all difficult, because who, then, to despise and whom to oppose? With whom to fight and be proud of?

The world as a single organism, sparkling facets. Each face has its own culture, ethnos, superethnos, the natural landscape, national and even racial pride. But a part of one comprehensive whole. How can your hand hate your leg? So to think, you need to perceive the world very differently. I aspire to this, but I'm so far away. Maybe you already reached it? I would like it to be so.published 

 

Author: Andrew Nordbon

P. S. And remember, just changing your mind — together we change the world! ©

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Source: mindness.ru/voyages/