Aeroplanes and vast blue oceans
Spread themselves before my eyes,
Tantalising, like glistening jewels
Of power and knowledge and culture,
All the things I want to have.
They whisper in my ear and say
That I’m not good enough, here
In my home land where beauty does exist.
If you stay here, you’ll die unhappy,
You’ll show that you don’t care
About our wilting planet.
But I don’t think that’s right.
I know there’s plenty here
To keep my life fulfilled.
I have heard so many people saying that ‘you must travel’. And to an extent, I agree. It is great to learn about other cultures and see what else the world has to offer them.
But this idea that without going to far flung countries, you’re a bit thick, a bit uncultured, that you don’t really care. I find that line of thinking makes me feel a bit sick.
Most of the people who say this kind of thing are quite well off and can afford to have a gap year or a career break. Which is great for them, but not everyone has that luxury.
My own view is that God blessed us all with our own section of the world. I live in the UK and we have such a beautiful and varied landscape that it would be impossible to explore it all in a lifetime.
Why would I need to go to another country, with all of this beauty right on my doorstep?
I’ve done a bit of travelling myself, so I must repeat that I don’t think it’s a bad thing. I just think that we shouldn’t make people feel like they’re uncultured and uneducated because they have no plans to travel.
Besides, the current situation might put an end to a lot of travelling anyway. And then we have the environment to think about. Maybe, the lowly staycation is going to become much more popular again.
Now excuse me while I pack my bags for a stay at Butlins.
Much Love
Rachel xx
douryeh
We don’t need to travel to the extend and in the frequency as before.
patientandkindlove
I think these past few months have taught us so many lessons, hopefully for the better!
crispina kemp
This wonderful corner of the world has such an ancient culture, and such a varied landscape, why should we leave it to go abroad to find beauty when beauty is here all around us.
The Grand Tour, the need to travel, has been superseded by the millions of videos available on YouTube. No longer is there need to leave our shores.
patientandkindlove
I know, we have so much content available online. It’s not as good as the real thing but if it can save the environment it’s a great second best. And we do have such a beautiful country.
crispina kemp
Indeed we do
Greg Dennison
I’ve only left the USA twice, but I’ve seen more of the USA than most people, mostly because I spent four months on the road trying to find myself in my late 20s (possibly the subject of another episodic story blog in the future). People don’t realize just how many different subcultures there are here… wait, let me rephrase that; people don’t realize that having so many subcultures here is a good thing.
patientandkindlove
I think you guys over in America are the luckiest. You have so much space and I can imagine that each state can be so different!
Greg Dennison
Yes. Very true.
But the down side is that these differences have also led to violent conflicts… with our Civil War of the 1860s being the most obvious. And given the direction things are going here, I really do wonder if we can survive as one nation. A lot of people today in certain parts of the country reject many of the fundamental principles on which this nation was founded, like free speech and the free market, and people are angry and want to impose their views on other states. And if another Civil War, or a peaceful dissolution of the USA, were to happen, I would have to leave my home because I would not be on the same side as the majority around here…