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Looking for transformative travel? Keep these six stages in mind

<p>After a cooped-up few years, Americans are hungry to travel. Passport offices <a href="https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/passports/how-apply/processing-times.html">are overwhelmed</a> with applications. In July, airlines scheduled and operated <a href="https://www.bts.gov/newsroom/air-travel-consumer-report-july-2021-numbers">the highest number of flights</a> since the pandemic began, according to the U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics. <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/08/22/national-parks-are-booming-that-may-ruin-your-next-trip.html">Record numbers</a> of travelers visited the U.S. national parks this summer, after <a href="https://www.nps.gov/subjects/socialscience/annual-visitation-highlights.htm">a nearly 28% drop</a> due to the pandemic. </p> <p>But why do we travel in the first place? What is the allure of the open road? </p> <p>As a professor of <a href="https://divinity.vanderbilt.edu/people/bio/jaco-hamman">religion, psychology and culture</a>, I study experiences that lie at the intersection of all three. And in my <a href="https://www.fortresspress.com/store/product/9781506472065/Just-Traveling">research on travel</a>, I’m struck by its unsolvable paradoxes: Many of us seek to get away, in order to be present; we speed to destinations, in order to slow down; we may care about the environment, but still leave carbon footprints.</p> <p>Ultimately, many people hope to return transformed. Travel <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/02508281.2017.1292177">is often viewed</a> as what anthropologists call a “<a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Arnold-van-Gennep">rite of passage</a>”: structured rituals in which individuals separate themselves from their familiar surroundings, undergo change and return rejuvenated or “reborn.”</p> <p>But travelers are not just concerned with themselves. The desire to explore may be a defining human trait, as I argue <a href="https://www.fortresspress.com/store/product/9781506472065/Just-Traveling">in my latest book</a>, but the ability to do it is a privilege that can <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2017.11.002">come at a cost</a>to host communities. Increasingly, the tourism industry and scholars alike are interested in <a href="https://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/cog/tri/2012/00000016/F0020003/art00003">ethical travel</a>, which minimizes visitors’ harm on the places and people they encounter. </p> <p>The media inundate tourists with advice and enticements about where to travel and what to do there. But in order to meet the deeper goals of transformative, ethical travel, the “why” and “how” demand deeper discernment.</p> <p>In writing “<a href="https://www.fortresspress.com/store/product/9781506472065/Just-Traveling">Just Traveling</a>: God, Leaving Home, and a Spirituality for the Road,” I studied travel stories in sacred scriptures and researched findings from psychologists, sociologists, ethicists, economists and tourism scholars. I argue that meaningful travel is best understood not as a three-stage rite but as a six-phase practice, based on core human experiences. These phases can repeat and overlap within the same journey, just as adventures twist and turn.</p> <h2>1. Anticipating</h2> <p>Traveling begins long before departure, as we research and plan. But anticipation is more than logistics. The Dutch aptly call it “voorpret”: literally, <a href="https://www.wordsense.eu/">the pleasure before</a>.</p> <p>How and what people anticipate in any given situation has the power to shape their experience, for better or worse – even when it comes to prejudice. Psychology experiments, for example, have shown that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/xge0000899">when children anticipate greater cooperation between groups</a>, it can reduce their bias in favor of their own group.</p> <p>But <a href="https://iep.utm.edu/phenom/">phenomenology</a>, a branch of philosophy that studies human experience and consciousness, emphasizes that <a href="http://ummoss.org/gall17varela.pdf">anticipation is also “empty”</a>: our conscious intentions and expectations of what’s to come could be fulfilled or dashed by a future moment. </p> <p>With that in mind, travelers should try to remain open to uncertainty and even disappointment.</p> <h2>2. Leaving</h2> <p>Leaving can awaken deep emotions that are tied to our earliest experiences of separation. The attachment styles psychologists study in infants, which shape how secure people feel in their relationships, <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-is-attachment-and-how-does-it-affect-our-relationships-120503">continue to shape us as adults</a>. These experiences can also affect how comfortable people feel <a href="https://www.proquest.com/openview/cdd5594c53a7864881fb71e54a7422f1/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&amp;cbl=1819046">exploring new experiences</a> and leaving home, which can affect how they travel.</p> <p>Some travelers leave with excitement, while others experience <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0047287520966392">hesitation or guilt</a> before the relief and excitement of departure. Mindfulness about the stages of travel can help people <a href="https://web.a.ebscohost.com/abstract?direct=true&amp;profile=ehost&amp;scope=site&amp;authtype=crawler&amp;jrnl=1931311X&amp;asa=Y&amp;AN=31381043&amp;h=nduDC2UXNGxscORELrBj%2fjZ6b4Xdbo4r5mkTwNhY2n2D7Oi0KAOPOw%2fsqhqshijmc4%2bMd%2fLjR2%2b3rONsdCopzg%3d%3d&amp;crl=c&amp;resultNs=AdminWebAuth&amp;resultLocal=ErrCrlNotAuth&amp;crlhashurl=login.aspx%3fdirect%3dtrue%26profile%3dehost%26scope%3dsite%26authtype%3dcrawler%26jrnl%3d1931311X%26asa%3dY%26AN%3d31381043">manage anxiety</a>.</p> <h2>3. Surrendering</h2> <p>Travelers cannot control their journey: A flight is canceled, or a vehicle breaks down; the weather report predicts sunshine, but it rains for days on end. To some extent, they have to surrender to the unknown.</p> <p>Modern Western cultures tend to see “surrendering” as something negative – as hoisting a white flag. But as a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/00107530.1990.10746643">therapeutic concept</a>, surrendering helps people let go of inhibiting habits, discover a sense of wholeness and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1215/10407391-2005-006">experience togetherness</a> with others. The perfectionist learns that a changed itinerary doesn’t mean a diminished travel experience and lets go of their fear of failure. The person with a strong sense of independence grows in vulnerability as they receive care from strangers.</p> <p>In fact, some psychological theories hold that the self longs for surrender, in the sense of liberation: letting down its defensive barriers and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0022167820975636">finding freedom</a> from attempts to control one’s surroundings. Embracing that view can help travelers cope with the reality that things may not go according to plan.</p> <h2>4. Meeting</h2> <p>Meeting, traveling’s fourth phase, is the invitation to discover oneself and others anew. </p> <p>All cultures have unconscious “<a href="https://www.routledge.com/The-Location-of-Culture/Bhabha/p/book/9780415336390">rules of recognition</a>,” their own ingrained customs and ways of thinking, making it more difficult to forge cross-cultural connections. Carrying <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Serene-Tse-2/publication/347739970_Assessing_explicit_and_implicit_stereotypes_in_tourism_self-reports_and_implicit_association_test/links/60ad92f1299bf13438e82cbe/Assessing-explicit-and-implicit-stereotypes-in-tourism-self-reports-and-implicit-association-test.pdf">conscious and unconscious stereotypes</a>, travelers may see some people and places as uneducated, dangerous, poor or <a href="https://doi.org/10.3390/su12229405">sexual</a>, while hosts may see travelers as rich, ignorant and exploitable. </p> <p>Going beyond such stereotypes requires that travelers be mindful of behaviors that can add tension to their interactions – knowing conversational topics to avoid, for example, or following local dress codes.</p> <p>In many parts of the world, those challenges are intensified <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/1468797603049658">by the legacy of colonization</a>, which makes it harder for people to meet in authentic ways. Colonial views still influence Western perceptions of nonwhite groups as <a href="https://hrcak.srce.hr/index.php?show=clanak&amp;id_clanak_jezik=80794">exotic</a>, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/14616688.2012.762688">dangerous</a> and inferior.</p> <p>Starting to overcome these barriers demands an attitude known as <a href="https://melanietervalon.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/CulturalHumility_Tervalon-and-Murray-Garcia-Article.pdf">cultural humility</a>, which is deeper than “cultural competence” – simply knowing about a different culture. Cultural humility helps travelers ask questions like, “I don’t know,” “Please help me understand” or “How should I…” </p> <h2>5. Caring</h2> <p>Caring involves overcoming “<a href="https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/mono/10.4324/9781003070672/moral-boundaries-joan-tronto">privileged irresponsibility</a>”: when a traveler does not recognize their own privilege and take responsibility for it, or does not recognize other people’s lack of privilege.</p> <p>[3 media outlets, 1 religion newsletter. <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters/this-week-in-religion-76/?utm_source=TCUS&amp;utm_medium=inline-link&amp;utm_campaign=newsletter-text&amp;utm_content=religion-3-in-1">Get stories from The Conversation, AP and RNS.</a>]</p> <p>Travel becomes irresponsible when tourists ignore injustices and inequities they witness or the way their travels contribute to the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1108/TR-03-2017-0066">unfolding climate crisis</a>. Ethically, “empathy” is not enough; travelers must pursue solidarity, as an act of “<a href="https://www.fortresspress.com/store/product/9781506472065/Just-Traveling">caring with</a>.” That might mean hiring local guides, eating in family-owned restaurants and being mindful of the resources like food and water that they use. </p> <h2>6. Returning</h2> <p>Travels do end, and returning home can be <a href="https://doi.org/10.4337/9781786438577.00025">a disorienting experience</a>. </p> <p>Coming back can cause <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/90015633">reverse culture shock</a> if travelers struggle to readjust. But that shock can diminish as travelers share their experiences with others, stay connected to the places they visited, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijintrel.2016.05.004">deepen their knowledge</a> about the place and culture, anticipate a possible return trip or get involved in causes that they discovered on their trip.</p> <p>I believe that reflecting on these six phases can invite the kind of mindfulness needed for transformative, ethical travel. And <a href="https://www.scielo.br/j/aabc/a/76CfqdL5pPBZLcQy9FdWwxn/?lang=en&amp;format=html">amid a pandemic</a>, the need for thoughtful travel that prioritises host communities’ well-being is clear.</p> <p><em>Image credits: Getty Images</em></p> <p><em>This article originally appeared on <a href="https://theconversation.com/looking-for-transformative-travel-keep-these-six-stages-in-mind-167687" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Conversation</a>. </em></p>

Travel Tips

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The Wind in the Willows — a tale of wanderlust, male bonding, and timeless delight

<p>Like several classics penned during the golden age of children’s literature, The Wind in the Willows was written with a particular child in mind.</p> <p>Alastair Grahame was four years old when his father Kenneth — then a secretary at the Bank of England — began inventing bedtime stories about the reckless ruffian, Mr Toad, and his long-suffering friends: Badger, Rat, and Mole.</p> <p>Alastair, born premature and partially blind, was nicknamed “Mouse”. Small, squinty, and beset by health problems, he was bullied at school. His rapture in the fantastic was later confirmed by his nurse, who recalled hearing Kenneth “up in the night-nursery, telling Master Mouse some ditty or other about a toad”.</p> <p>The Wind in the Willows evolved from Alastair’s bedtime tales into a series of letters Grahame later sent his son while on holiday in Littlehampton. In the story, a quartet of anthropomorphised male animals wander freely in a pastoral land of leisure and pleasure — closely resembling the waterside haven of Cookham Dean where Grahame himself grew up.</p> <p>In peaceful retreat from “The Wide World”, Rat, Mole, Badger, and Toad spend their days chatting, philosophising, pottering, and ruminating on the latest fashions and fads. But when the daredevil, Toad, takes up motoring, he becomes entranced by wild fantasies of the road. His concerned friends must intervene to restrain his whims, teaching him “to be a sensible toad”.</p> <p>Unlike Toad’s recuperative ending, however, Alastair’s story did not end happily. In the spring of 1920, while a student at Oxford, he downed a glass of port before taking a late night stroll. The next morning, railway workers found his decapitated body on tracks near the university. An inquest determined his death a likely suicide but out of respect for his father, it was recorded as an accident.</p> <p>Kenneth Grahame, by all accounts, never recovered from the loss of his only child. He became increasingly reclusive, eventually abandoning writing altogether.</p> <p>In his will, he gifted the original manuscript of Willows to the Bodleian Library, along with the copyrights and all his royalties. Upon his death in 1932, he was buried in Oxford next to his first reader, Mouse.</p> <p>A ‘gay manifesto’?<br />Biographical readings are a staple in children’s literature, and the criticism surrounding The Wind in the Willows is no exception. First published in 1908 — the same year as Anne of Green Gables and Dorothy and the Wizard of Oz — the novel was initially titled The Mole and the Water-Rat. After back and forth correspondence with Grahame, his publisher Sir Algernon Methuen wrote to say he had settled on The Wind in the Willows because of its “charming and wet sound”.</p> <p>Today, one of the mysteries surrounding the novel is the meaning of the title. The word “willows” does not appear anywhere in the book; the single form “willow” appears just twice.</p> <p>When Willows was first released in Britain it was marketed as an allegory — “a fantastic and whimsical satire upon life”, featuring a cast of woodland and riverside creatures who were closer to an Edwardian gentlemen’s club than a crowd of animals. Indeed, the adventures structuring the novel are the meanderings of old English chaps nostalgic for another time.</p> <p>The four friends, though different in disposition, are bound by their “divine discontent and longing”.</p> <p>Restless enough to be easily bewitched, they are rich enough to fill their days with long picnics and strolls. Most chapters are sequenced in chronological order, but the action revolves around different types of wandering – pottering around the garden, messing about in boats, rambling along country lanes.</p> <p>With the exception of a brief encounter with a jailer’s daughter, an overweight barge woman, and a careless mother hedgehog, there are no women in Willows. And excluding a pair of young hedgehogs and a group of field mice, all male, there are no children either.</p> <p>Given the novel’s strong homosocial subtext and absence of female characters, the story is often read as an escapist fantasy from Grahame’s unhappy marriage to Elspeth Thomson. Peter Hunt, an eminent scholar of Willows, describes the couple’s relationship as “sexually arid” and suggests Grahame’s sudden resignation from the bank in 1908 was due to bullying on the basis of his sexuality.</p> <p>Indeed, Hunt ventures to call the book “a gay manifesto”, reading it as a gay allegory heavy with suppressed desire and latent homoeroticism. In one scene, for example, Mole and Rat “shake off their garments” and “tumble in-between the sheets in great joy and contentment”.</p> <p>Earlier, while sharing a bed in the open air, Mole “reaches out from under his blanket, feels for the Rat’s paw in the darkness, and gives it a squeeze.” “I’ll do whatever you like, Ratty,” he whispers.</p> <p>For this reason, and others, some critics suggest that Willows is not a children’s book at all, but a novel for adults that can be enjoyed by children.</p> <p>Conservatism<br />Whether we read Willows as a simple animal story or a social satire, the narrative reinforces the status quo. Badger, for instance, resembles a gruff headmaster whose paternal concern for his friends extends to an earnest attempt to reform the inebriate Toad.</p> <p>Toad is a recognisable type of schoolboy, charming and impulsive but wildly arrogant and lacking self-control. In the end, he is punished for his foolish behaviour and forced to forgo his flamboyant egotism in humble resignation at Toad Hall. Similarly, Mole and Ratty are afflicted by wanderlust, but inevitably retreat to their cosy, subterranean homes. All of Grahame’s animals return to their “proper” place.</p> <p>This return to civility and quiet domesticity exemplifies a criticism often levelled at children’s literature: that such stories are more about the fears and desires of adults than those of children. (Alice in Wonderland, for instance, emphasises the importance of curiosity and imagination, but is also an attempt to socialise children into responsible citizenship.)</p> <p>Willows is a story about homecoming and friendship, but also a psychodrama about uncontrolled behaviour and addiction in Edwardian England.</p> <p>Creatures of habit<br />Perhaps the most famous scene in Willows — now also a popular ride at Disneyland — is Mr Toad’s Wild Ride. In the novel, the incautious Toad, who is oddly large enough to drive a human-sized car, is frequently in trouble with the law and even imprisoned due to his addiction to joyriding.</p> <p>At times delusional, the self-proclaimed “terror of the highway” writes off several vehicles before spiralling into a cycle of car theft, dangerous driving, and disorderly behaviour.</p> <p>Eventually, Toad’s motorcar mania becomes so unmanageable that his exasperated friends are forced to stage “a mission of mercy” – a “work of rescue” that contemporary readers might recognise as an intervention. This subtext of addiction underpins the arc of recovery, and is crucial for understanding the novel’s key themes: the limits of friendship, the loss of pastoral security, and the temptations of city life.</p> <p>Interestingly, in Badger’s attempt to help Toad break the cycle of withdrawal and recovery, and in Toad’s temporary abatement and relapse, the text points to another form of addiction: to alcohol.</p> <p>When Toad is banished to his country retreat — a typical “cure” for upper-class alcoholism at the time — Badger stresses he will remain in enforced confinement “until the poison has worked itself out of his system” and his “violent paroxysms” have passed.</p> <p>Again, the biographical foundation of the work is clear. Grahame’s father, Cunningham, was an alcoholic whose heavy drinking resulted, like Toad’s intoxication, in social exile, financial strain, and the loss of the family home.</p> <p>In The Wind in the Willows, Grahame employs animals to render all the ups and downs of human experience. In doing so, he captures the conflict and consonance between freedom and captivity, tradition and modernity.</p> <p class="p1"><em>Written by Kate Cantrell. This article first appeared on <a href="https://theconversation.com/guide-to-the-classics-the-wind-in-the-willows-a-tale-of-wanderlust-male-bonding-and-timeless-delight-151091">The Conversation</a>.</em></p>

Books

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7 books that will fill you with wanderlust

<p>For many retirees, the top of their to-do list is one simple word that can have life-changing implications – travel. Whether you’ve already begun your journey or need a little inspiration, we’ve rounded up seven books that will make you want to grab your passport and leave all your worries, responsibilities and fears behind.</p> <p><a href="https://t.dgm-au.com/c/93981/71095/1880?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.booktopia.com.au%2Funlikely-pilgrimage-of-harold-fry-the-rachel-joyce%2Fprod9780552778091.html"><em><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry</span> </strong></em></a>by Rachel Joyce </p> <p>After retiree Harold receives a letter from his old friend Queenie informing him she is in hospice care with not long left to live, he leaves his cold, bitter wife and sets off on a journey to see Queenie one last time. During his travels, he encounters new friends who stir up old memories about Harold’s marriage and his failures as a parent. Back home, his wife unexpectedly begins to miss Harold. Will his pilgrimage bring them together? And will he make it to Queenie?</p> <p><a href="http://t.dgm-au.com/c/93981/71095/1880?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.booktopia.com.au%2Ftales-of-a-female-nomad-rita-golden-gelman%2Fprod9781863254601.html"><em><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Tales of a Female Nomad</span></strong></em></a> by Rita Golden Gelman </p> <p>Tired of her glamourous yet unsatisfying life in L.A. and on the brink of divorce, Rita Golden Gelman sold all her belongings and took off around the world. Her few months of travelling turned into years as she finds love in Mexico, works as a tour guide in the Galapagos Islands, lives in a royal palace in Bali and adopts a school full of children in New Zealand. Her inspiring tale of mid-life reinvention will make you want to follow in her incredible footsteps.</p> <p><a href="http://t.dgm-au.com/c/93981/71095/1880?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.booktopia.com.au%2Fno-reservations-anthony-bourdain%2Fprod9781596914476.html"><em><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">No Reservations</span></strong></em></a> by Anthony Bourdain </p> <p>Whether you’re already a fan of his hit TV show or not, chef Anthony Bourdain’s tales of eating his way around the world will have you itching to board a plane – and perhaps a bit hungry, too. Filled with never-before-seen snaps from his trips and outrageous accounts of travels from New Zealand to New Jersey, you’ll feel as if you’re right alongside Bourdain as he hits the road on an empty stomach.</p> <p><a href="http://t.dgm-au.com/c/93981/71095/1880?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.booktopia.com.au%2Fthe-lost-girls-jennifer-baggett%2Fprod9780061689079.html"><em><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">The Lost Girls</span></strong></em></a> by Jennifer Baggett, Holly C. Corbett and Amanda Pressner </p> <p>On the cusp of their 30th birthdays at something of a crossroads, friends Jennifer, Holly and Amanda decide to gain some perspective by setting off on a year-long search for meaning and direction in their lives. 60,000 miles, four contents and more than a dozen countries later, the girls certainly have a story to share. Join them as they recount their experiences in the Amazon Jungle, the beaches of Brazil, the villages of Vietnam and the Aussie outback.</p> <p><a href="http://t.dgm-au.com/c/93981/71095/1880?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.booktopia.com.au%2Finto-the-wild-jon-krakauer%2Fprod9780330453677.html"><em><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Into the Wild</span></strong></em></a> by Jon Krakauer </p> <p>15 years ago, newly-graduated and well-to-do Christopher McCandless gave his life savings to charity, abandoned his possessions and began a new life as a nomad. Four months later, his decomposing body was found by a hunter. In between, however, McCandless lived more in those few months than many people do in a lifetime. He reinvented himself as “Alexander Supertramp” and made his way deeper and deeper into the wild.</p> <p><a href="http://t.dgm-au.com/c/93981/71095/1880?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.booktopia.com.au%2Fa-year-in-provence-popular-penguins-peter-mayle%2Fprod9780141037257.html"><em><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">A Year in Provence</span></strong></em></a> by Peter Mayle </p> <p>This book became an instant classic when it was first published in 1991, and if you’ve read it before you’ll know why. Peter Mayle and his wife realised their lifelong dream of moving from England to a beautiful old farmhouse in the French Provençal region of Luberon with their two dogs. Their delightful account of life in the south of France will speak to anyone who’s ever dreamed of relocating to another country.</p> <p><a href="http://t.dgm-au.com/c/93981/71095/1880?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.booktopia.com.au%2Fwild-cheryl-strayed%2Fprod9780857897763.html"><em><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Wild</span></strong></em></a> by Cheryl Strayed </p> <p>At the age of 26, Cheryl Strayed found herself mourning the death of her mother as well as the breakdown of her marriage. Desperate to escape, she did the most impulsive thing in her entire life – she packed a bag and set off on the Pacific Crest Trail from the Mojave Desert to Washington State in the US with no knowledge or experience of hiking. Find out why this hilarious, relatable, heart-warming and heart-breaking memoir became a worldwide bestseller.</p> <p>Has a book ever inspired you to travel? Share your story with us in the comments below.</p> <p><strong>Related links:</strong></p> <p><a href="http://www.oversixty.co/entertainment/books/2017/02/quotes-about-books-and-reading/"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong>20 amazing quotes about books and reading</strong></em></span></a></p> <p><a href="http://www.oversixty.co.nz/entertainment/books/2017/01/famous-authors-reveal-favourite-books/"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong>10 famous authors reveal their favourite books</strong></em></span></a></p> <p><a href="http://www.oversixty.co.nz/entertainment/books/2016/01/inspiring-quotes-by-cheryl-strayed/"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong>Very inspiring quotes to live by in 2016</strong></em></span></a></p>

Books