WHY I LOVE THE WORLD?

As I look back into my travel history, leaving apart the journeys I made within the country, I extensively traveled across the globe for the past 25 years and visited various countries like Israel, Singapore, USA, UK, Germany, Canada and Mexico and further extensively toured the areas around in each country. In US itself I covered the entire East Coast as well as the West Coast by making more than half a dozen trips to the places.

That wide travel round the globe alone made it possible for me to visit many famous places of historical and tourist importance which till then I could only read in books and hear from people who were to those places. Some of the places of my visit in the past were..

Merlion Park of Singapore,
Jerusalem, Bethlehem, dead sea and Sea of Galilee of Israel,
Museum of Science and Museum of Fine arts of Boston,
Light house, Casco Bay of Maine,
Central Park, Brooklyn Bridge and Statue of Liberty of NY,
National Museum History, White House and Washington Monument of Washington DC,
Los Angeles County of Museum of Art and Griffith Park of LA,
Golden Gate Bridge of SFO,
Dysneyland, Orlando,
Beaches of Miami, Santa Barbara and Santa Monica,
Lake Tahoe and Big Bear Lake of Neveda/CA,
Las Vegas,
Bigsur and the Seventeen Mile Drive of California,
Grand Canyan National Park, Aspen Rocky Mountain National Park and Death Valley National Park of US,
Bannf National Park and Jasper National Park of Canada,
Volcanic Crater and Haleakala National Park of Hawaii,
A Cruise trip to Mexico,
Big Ben, Buckingham Palace, Tower Bridge of London,
Cologne Cathedral of Germany, 
Kunstpalast Museum of Dusseldorf, etc..

In the beginning of these series of my travel abroad, my travel inspiration was not much and I was not enthusiastic as I was forced to stay away from the very much loved place of my own for long periods along with living in sub zero temp environments..

It was a sort of homesickness having traveled for long distance and finding nothing common at the new place compared to my usual day to day experiences of life like..

• The food was different, the taste was different, the items in the market were different, the language spoken as well as the accent was different, people's habits were different, the heat, cold, dust, rain and the weather in general were different.. 

Something seriously missing..

THE TOO MUCH LOVED FAMILIARITY!

During that initial period, on a day I happened to visit a nearby book store just to spend some time.. There again I noticed that the books too were different except a few countable in number, the subjects were different and were never to my taste..

Moving thus mechanically as I went to a corner searching a lot for my choice, suddenly my attention was drawn towards something hanging on the wall there..

I don't know.. It was a sudden impulse of emotion in me on seeing that as instantly I could see something exactly 1:1 of what I had repeatedly seen, gone through, studied, argued on and was a master of that for so many years in my life..

THE UNIQUE PIECE OF WALL PAPER.. THE WORLD MAP AS IS!

As if it was a miracle with a great recovery feeling within me, I instantly started seeing a few other common things too in the new place which till that moment, I failed to notice with

An open minded attitude of seeing greatness and beauty everywhere totally replacing the attitude of myself craving to remain in my own cocoon of my small world..

• 'Yes! Here, the people too are basically one and the same with the same type of physiques, the same feelings of pleasure and pain and the same expressions and requirements with them..

• The nature around is the same with the clouds, waters, air, hills and vegetation with so many common entities that can never be off from the scene..

• The weather might have been seen as different but the words heat, cold, rain, lightening, thunders and wind forever convey the same known meaning only!

THAT VERY MUCH LOVED FAMILIARITY

Is intact in the new place too if seen in the right perspective.. Then where is the place for the crippling home sickness which bothered me so much till then?'

No need to say..

That night I had lengthy heart felt conversations and telephonic calls with some of my friends and my near and dear ones at distance and as I was returning to bed for a restful sleep which was a dream till the other day, I noticed myself unknowingly whistling aloud with

The piece of World Map purchased and brought home by me with all Reverence and Respect and positioned in my bedroom hanging to the wall was silently conveying the Eternal Message of the

• 'EVER EXISTING ONENESS'

Amidst

• 'COUNTLESS DIVIDING TENDENCIES'

In me if not seen in the right perspective!

The post is written as per the guidelines given by Lufthansa Indivine contest 'Why do you love the world?'

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Keywords: world, travel inspiration, open minded