Gratitude- I thank traveling for that.

A while back I overheard someone talking about travel.  They were putting down a country as being "Third World" and nothing but a pit.  I have been blessed to travel to many parts of the world.  I thank my parents for the blessing of travel they gave us growing up, and more importantly, the seed and curiosity to travel.  I've  been blessed to see many beautiful parts of our planet and I hope to travel to many more.  From the hills and cliffs of Ireland, to the ancient villages, beaches, castles and churches of mainland Europe.  We have family friends in Belgium and France, but frankly, those travels were not as deep and rich as the ones I developed in some countries people would not put first on their destination of choice list.

Every nation has it's own natural beauty.  Some wild, some with deep history.  Each country has its own scars, either from colonialism, communism, civil wars or other parts of its history.  There are parts of countries that are not safe to go to, there are panhandlers, gypsies and groups of people in almost every country that people would like to pretend aren't present.

I have found that I can get by with strange food, strange customs and even strange toilet facilities (I never knew how much I appreciated having a toilet bowl or toilet paper until I spent time in some countries without them) or how much I appreciate having a hot or cold shower when I've travelled to at least 4 different countries where these things were not a guarantee (including Ireland, what is considered a western country).

I've eaten stale bread because that is all the host has had to give.  I've tolerated some strong language, because apparently one of the local dialects involves having a swear word every other sentence.  I've had an old man tell me, "women can't be vets," then quickly back track.  I've walked the beaches where soldiers died fighting for our freedom and seen ancient Roman ruins.  I'm grateful for all my travel and experiences.  Some have been difficult, some ( a lot) have been downright comical.

I've come to appreciate the "western" conveniences and lifestyle that I'm blessed to live with.  Going to some areas of the world can give you a glimpse into how people lived over a hundred years ago, it can be a reminder of all the luxury we have today and a reminder that we don't "Need" the things we think we do.

What I've found most enlightening though are the lessons I've learned from people in these places and locations where some don't dare to tread.  The humanity, the acts of kindness, charity and generosity. I still remember when I was in Mexico and I bought some candy to give to children we met a long the way.  We were at a rural farm and I gave a little boy riding a tricycle a bag of candy.  I then noticed that there were other children further away.  My heart sunk, as I realized that I didn't have any more candy for the rest of the children.  I then noticed that the boy had immediately taken his tricycle over to the other kids.  No parent or adult told him to do this.  He just knew he got something good and he was sharing.  In a land where they don't have excess, sharing was automatic to him; how many 5 year olds in this country do the same?

On the streets of India, giving our leftover food to the poor on the streets and watching an old woman come by every Sunday and giving soup to the poor was also a chance to witness charity as well as seeing the charity of the Missionaries of Charity, St. Mother Teresa's sisters.  St. Mother Teresa herself said, "The most terrible poverty is loneliness and the feeling of being unloved."  This poverty affects the western world as much, if not more than India.  How many times are people around, but not truly present?

I remember traveling in Europe and how it seemed to get to the point that my teenage voice said, "Not another church, not another castle".  We were on a whirlwind trip and tried to get as much out of it as we could.  I love history, but I've found that I get more out of traveling where I can see great natural beauty.  I also find the beauty of people adapting and being joyful in situations and environments that would be difficult to most Americans as a more important way for me to grow than simply staying in fancy hotels and having the best service (although that's nice too sometimes).

I hope that I will be able to give my son some travel experiences that make his horizons grow and also his appreciation and gratitude grow.  Gratitude for those blessings we have and most importantly for realizing the best blessings are the simple ones; each other.