Catriona- Thanks for sharing this. One thing I always find from traveling to southeast Asia is the surprising self-discovery I always get at the end of it. It's like it deepen my knowledge of the self, particularly what's important for me (that I wasn't even aware I value, like the deep sense of respect to others) and what I 'thought' was important (that turns out isn't all that important, after all). And for some reason, living in the US now, I can't really see this in a palpable way unless I travel halfway around the world. Perhaps it's because humans learn so much by way of contrast and heightened sensibility. Either way, this is a great reminder. :)
Hi Thalia - thank you for this comment and for stopping by a moment. Surprising self dicovery sounds such a brilliant gift from your travels. I was interested in your thoughts about contrast - I agree travel opens us up due to newness and SE Asia has so many different values and daily life than the West. In Myanmar, I often found it took me a while to unpick what was going on. And another while to adjust my mind to what was happening around me. Being there definately taught me a lot about life that I had not considered before.
Catriona- Thanks for sharing this. One thing I always find from traveling to southeast Asia is the surprising self-discovery I always get at the end of it. It's like it deepen my knowledge of the self, particularly what's important for me (that I wasn't even aware I value, like the deep sense of respect to others) and what I 'thought' was important (that turns out isn't all that important, after all). And for some reason, living in the US now, I can't really see this in a palpable way unless I travel halfway around the world. Perhaps it's because humans learn so much by way of contrast and heightened sensibility. Either way, this is a great reminder. :)
Hi Thalia - thank you for this comment and for stopping by a moment. Surprising self dicovery sounds such a brilliant gift from your travels. I was interested in your thoughts about contrast - I agree travel opens us up due to newness and SE Asia has so many different values and daily life than the West. In Myanmar, I often found it took me a while to unpick what was going on. And another while to adjust my mind to what was happening around me. Being there definately taught me a lot about life that I had not considered before.