Why traveling the world?

If you do not travel the world you see the world through a pinhole.

Most people in your hometown think like you. Many people in your region think like you. Culturally, just about EVERYBODY thinks like you, in your home nation.

This is the Pinhole Effect. Or the Pinhead Effect. People never leave their home country and have such worldly, wise, experienced, highly cultured views of their country being the best on earth and all other countries being dangerous, backward or full of poverty.

Prideful Pinheads. Who see the world through a narrow, tiny pinhole because they only have one cultural experience for framing: living in the culture of their own country.

New Jersey Walks with Asian Americans

Every night, my wife Kelli and I walk for 6 miles. We spend 90 minutes traversing the town. 

This region of New Jersey has a high enough Asian American population that nearby Newark Airport has flights directly from India. As we see Indian American men walk with hands clasped behind backs in traditional long sleeves and shorts, and Indian American women in traditional, beautiful garb, I do not think “different” or “why haven’t they assimilated?”, or any other pinhead, pinhole, fear-based garbage in minds of people who do not travel. I think, “Yep; just how folks dressed in Chennai, Pondicherry, Bangalore, and Kerala.” I visited India in 2013.

I even do the Indian nod, here in the U.S. People love it and laugh. I spoke to a Nepalese American woman who was our cashier at Walmart. We spent a month in her home village of Lazimpat, in Kathmandu. Her jaw dropped to the floor. Happiness overtook her. We knew her village! Here we are in Walmart, NJ, on the other side of the world from Nepal, and she finds 2 fellow Americans who spent a month in her village.

We also see Chinese American women wearing wide, floppy hands for sun protection. Like many Chinese, Malaysian, Cambodian and Vietnamese women we see in Asia. It does not look weird or different to me. This is the norm among certain sects within each culture who desires not sun damage.

Traveling the world connects the world because ignorant fears dissolve into open-minded love as we feel comfortable in our similarity and fascination at our differences.

How Circling the Globe Changed Me

Largely, I transitioned from vibing fear to vibing love around humanity because my pinhole view opened up to a 360 degree, open-minded, global view. Fear of other nations and cultures dissolved. Muslims are nice people! Kelli and I learned this after being invited into alleged stranger’s homes for coffee and dates.

Imagine that in New Jersey! You meet someone for the first time, exchange pleasantries in a different language save one word of English, then, after 3 minutes of light banter, someone invites you into their home to enjoy food and drink with them. This happened for us in Oman. Has not happened in New Jersey.

I also learned how women and men covering up in Oman is not wrong or constricting. Covering up in Oman just….is. People living in a conservative nation – especially in the ultra-conservative desert city of Nizwa, where we spent 2 months – cover up most of their skin save hands and face. Yes; men too, in many cases. Men wear hats in Oman covering most of their hair.

After covering up with long sleeves and sweatpants in Nizwa to respect the local culture I realized:

• How much time I saved by not worrying about how I looked
• How even humble me was a little too vain, and covering up proved it
• How you look means little and how you treat others means everything
• What seemed to be a negative was actually filled with so many positives for peace of mind, well-being, and ego-dissolving

If my full scope of knowledge about women wearing burkas was negative, divisive, U.S. news, I believe women covering up is wrong, abusive and terrible, drinking fear Kool-aid. Since I spent 2 months in Oman and 1 month in Qatar I learned how this is simply how another culture lives, and covering up myself for 2 months, I experienced the many benefits of not wasting time trying to be handsome or to show off my body.

Circling the globe taught me:

• Open-mindedness
• How similar we are
• Tolerance
• How differences are necessary to make life interesting
• Fascination
• How I look good in Balinese wedding wear
• How Western news is 99.99% lies because it is 99.99% fear and fear is an illusion and only love is real
• Love

Travel the world! 

Once you spend time in different cultures, across different nations, your narrow, pinhole, world-centric view becomes a 360 degree, a worldly view that moves your vibe from fear and distrust to love and openness.

Be a global ambassador. Educate the fear-ignorant.

Bring the world together in a state of harmony and love.

What are you waiting for?

Buy your plane ticket!

This is a guest post by Ryan Biddulph. We know him as “The Island hopping Blogger” and his blog Blogging From Paradise.  He traveled the globe and has a lot to tell.

After my post about Rahul Sihmar Travel And Explore See In A New Way What Life Is.  , I saw his enthusiasm when I met him and we made an interview. I thought of Ryan and how interesting it would be to know what kind of changes traveling did bring him?

I asked Ryan: What did change for you? Did traveling have and impact on your life? Would you be please tell us about?

I am very grateful that he agreed to write and share his experience with us. Thank you, Ryan

About the Author

Ryan Biddulph inspires with his 100 plus eBooks, courses, paperbacks, audiobooks and blog at Blogging From Paradise.

Take advantage of Ryan’s experience. He had up and downs in life and did overcome fear and lives in the present. Reading his books will help you to get into the right vibes.

Do you like to travel? Do you have a story to tell?

What is your experience of travel?

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