Is there a
place in the world you never want to visit? Where, and why not?
I really
wasn’t sure how to answer this one, so I asked my husband his thoughts on it,
and immediately he said any place that harbors terrorists, knowingly or
unknowingly. I understand where he is
coming from. I don’t think I would ever be brave enough to travel some place
where I knew I would be placing myself in danger, but I think that’s because
it’s not just about me. I am not single.
I have a husband, a family, parents, and friends whom I know love me, and it
would be irresponsible of me to take off t o some place where I could be held
hostage, tortured, hurt, or killed (whether it be purposely or accidentally),
so I guess that would be my “where never to visit and why not.”
That said,
if I ever felt an intense calling to visit these places, my children were
raised and on their own, and my husband was supportive of my calling, I would
rule ANY PLACE out. Ever since stepping
foot off my country of birth into Europe when I was in college, I have been
fascinated and enlightened by travel because it’s such a learning experience
for me. Maybe I would begin to
understand a bit more (not sympathize necessarily, but understand) why children
are shooting at American soldiers in Middle Eastern countries and why the
terrorists out there are willing to give up their lives for their cause. If I could see the culture they are raised in
and talk with others who are from the same place, but NOT terrorists, I might
learn something that would help us negotiate in crisis situations, learn something
that would bring us peace, not more terror.
Judging
others gets your nowhere but in a negative, bitter frame of mind, and
eventually, it leads to focusing on nothing but those judgments, so that you
can’t even see ANY positive or good in the person or situation. Lately, I know I’ve gotten back into the
jumping to judgments habit instead of judging myself first. It’s something I realized today when talking
with a co-worker and literally feeling the negativity seeping out of my
words. It’s time to get back to looking
for the positives in each situation and person in my life. It’s glass half-full
time!!
There are
increasingly more unsafe places in the world today to visit with the rise in
terrorism since 9-11, but I still believe there’s good in everyone and every
place. Sometimes you just have to look past the rough parts to see it. Some of my favorite places to spend time over
the years have been what the world calls “third-world” countries, but what I
see is the intense family oriented culture, the focus on laughing and having
fun rather than on acquiring more stuff, the beauty in a child coming up with
their own games using only the rocks and sticks the find outside their
homes.
If we want
to truly love and be loved than we must learn to love as God does,
unconditionally and without judgment.
So, I won’t judge any place and say it’s not somewhere I’d want to visit
because I’d love to give every place on God’s green earth a chance to show me
its hidden secrets and cultural diversity to me.
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