Some questions commonly asked since I’ve been back are: What have you learned? What’s the one thing that you learned or took away from the trip? Once in a while, there’s a playful question. Have I achieved enlightenment? No enlightenment, not even close. However, now that the dust has settled from my final landing, the answers to the former two questions are beginning to appear, questions I don’t think I would have been capable of answering while on my trip.
Some of the most memorable things I’ve learned range from the cultural, to the philosophical, to the interpersonal. I couldn’t list every lesson in one entry. I’ll run through those that stand out in my mind now.
One of the most important lessons is simple, it gets taught to kindergartners, yet a lesson neglected, often forgotten among our more educated. That lesson came from a monk during a meditation class in Thailand. I was not good in meditation, but I vividly remember the moment he said those words of wisdom. I’ve taken them with me to this day.
“Everyone is the same. We all have one mind and one heart.”
At first, I didn’t realize the wisdom and importance of these words. They seemed obvious, redundant, undeserving of great thought. Throughout my trip, though, instances brought me back to that afternoon. With each flashback, I slowly saw the substance of those simple words. It doesn’t matter what religion you are, where you live, what color you are, how much money you have. Some things we all have in common. They are the most important, what really matters.
I had the flashback of the monk when I saw a father lovingly hold his infant daughter in Vietnam. I saw the same sight in Nepal, Taiwan and India months later. I sometimes have the flashback when I see smiles and laugher – they have no language. They're uplifting, contagious, no matter how different people seem to be and where they come from. They are from the heart – a universal language. We will always be able to communicate with each other.
We respond to kindness, want to be treated with kindness. No matter how outwardly different people are, men hold and love their daughters – everywhere. It isn't cultural. We have one mind and one heart.
I’ve learned that it’s okay to be scared. What’s not okay is to let fear dictate, keep you from doing what you need, want to do, what you were meant to do. The only failure is the failure to try.
I’m convinced the majority of people are good. Too often we think a place is “dangerous” or “bad” because we fear the unknown, or we judge the population by the few that make our evening propaganda news. In every country I’ve been to, with the exception of Singapore, someone warned me about the evil, the dangerous place I was going to. I never found these warnings true. When I asked these people if they had visited these countries, the answer was usually "no".
Crime is everywhere. From a statistical standpoint, the countries we consider unsafe and backward have lower crime rates than where we call home. See for yourself. I can recall experiences where the warm hearts of the locals overwhelmed me with their acts of kindness and generosity, making those acts more precious and touching.
Another lesson I’ve learned and relearned is trust your own instincts. A simple smile doesn't hurt, either. I'd say the most important, though, is hope. Over and over again, I've witnessed acts of love and a selflessness.
When I first returned, one of my best friends asked if I'd learned one lesson or one thing, what would it be? It’s a hard question, but the answer came surprisingly easy to me. Without much thought, I said if there was one thing I learned, it would be that there’s hope in the world. I’m convinced of it because over and over again, I’ve seen acts of love, selflessness, and the kindness of strangers in all of the different places I’ve been. I’ve seen it enough to believe that humans are not inherently evil. There is so much potential to do better. I have a renewed faith in humanity that the future will be better than the past for the human race – people still care.
I’m also aware that we have huge problems in this world, including an over abundance of idiot-heads-of-state, a threatening apathetic attitude towards pollution and the destructionn of our environment, prejudice, destitute levels of the poor and homeless, civil strife and inequalities. Things can slowly change. The answer partly lies in information and education, everyone doing their part to minimize harmful effects to our world, good people standing up for the people who aren’t able to stand up for themselves.
Read more on Jeffrey's blog.
