Travel Thoughts - October 5, 2011

As I am getting ready to undertake the lengthiest and most exciting journey
of my life, a poem I wrote back in 1997, comes to mind.  I had just been
to India for the first time and I wrote the poem on board the Sun
Viking, a small Royal Caribbean ship on the continution of my
vacation which included several days in Bangkok and a twelve day
southeast Asian cruise.  I was away from home a total of a month and
made some of the dearest friends of my life.  I was, also, frequently
appalled and ashamed by the behavior of many Ameicans traveling with
me.  I read the poem at the passenger talent night on the ship and have
done so many times since.  It has also appeared in a Minnesota newspaper
travel column and was publshed on the International Women in Travel
website.

Travel Thoughts

As we travel about our shrinking globe,
Let us take the time to see,
This earth's most precious resource -
People like you and me.

Though we speak myriad languages,
And may dress in a different style -
A common bond unites us all,
The ability to share a smile.

As we pack for each new adventure,
Let's leave bias and prejudice behind,
Treating others as we'd like to be treated,
Remembering to respect all mankind.

We must pause to see the beauty,
In even the smallest things -
In the smiling eyes of a native child,
In the bright hue of butterfly wings.

Let us take good will as we journey,
No matter how near or how far,
And rejoice in the cultural differences,
That make each of us who we are.

Try to be less hasty to criticize,
As hither and yon we roam,
For if we're always finding fault,
What's the point of leaving home?

To be able to travel is truly a gift,
So be grateful as each journey ends,
For all we have seen and learned on the way,
For the joy of new found friends.

May we share our planet's beauty,
With the utmost respect and care
Leaving nature and all whom we meet,
Better for our having been there.

Carmen Henesy

Copyright (c) 1997 by Carmen Henesy
All rights reserved.