Keep On Traveling!

Linda and I just returned from an 18 day European adventure. We traveled to: Iceland, England, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia-Hercegovina, Montenegro, Italy, and France. We like to mix our journeys between beauty and local, cultural, conversational, historical inter-actions. We are believers in the axiom: "Don't tell me how much education you have. Tell me where you have traveled", (or something like that). Why is travel important?

WE ARE NOT THE ONLY PEA IN THE POD. Instead of dealing in dollars you deal with the euro, the kroner, kuna and the pound. You deal with driving on the left side instead of the right. The music is different. The language is different. The politics are different. religious practices are different. The traveler must always deal with new systems and make adjustments. The world is a metaphor for the Body of Christ. Yet, we are all in the same pod even though we are different peas!

WE DISCOVER OUR COMMON HUMANITY. People work, have families, have fun, do holidays, buy things, go grocery shopping, depend on transportation, worship, rely on political structures, sit in parks and picnic, eat and drink together at sidewalk cafes, play chess and backgammon in public. In Komarovsky's classic phrase from "Dr. Zhivago": "We're all made of the same clay, you know!"

WE SHARE OUR STORIES: Story-telling is not lecture time. Stories are life's connecting links. Stories are the coffee, beer, and tea times in the Munich Hofbrauhaus, the Cafe' Maggots in Paris, the seaside restaurant in Vernazza, and lunch over looking the bridge at Mostar. We listen, we share, we connect. The owner of a Croatian B&B tells of his multi-year effort to build his own establishment, not taking out a loan, but building when he had the money, and then explaining how he fishes and sells the produce to a local eatery. The English engineer tells how he works with our science and pentagon people to prevent or respond to a nuclear terrorist attack. The University of Texas political science professor who tells us that Barbara Jordan is one of her heroes who opened the door for her as an African-American female to teach at the university, and the joy she felt when telling us that the U of T has commissioned a statue of Barbara Jordan on campus, the first ever statue of anybody on the campus. Stories are the great human connectors of life.

WE EXPERIENCE DEATH AND RESURRECTION. Linda and I have visited eight concentration camps. We have walked the beaches of Normany and been silenced by the Allied and German cemetaries. We have seen the destroyed buildings in Mostar. We have seen buildings riddled with bullet holes and a museum dedicated to the "200 Defenders of Dubrovnik". We have traveled the filthy waters of the Venice canals. Yet we have also seen a rebuilt Dubrovnik, a rebuilt bridge at Mostar, a rebuilt London. We have heard the stories of how Muslims, Orthodox, and Romans Catholic folks are living together peacefully in Bosnia-Hercegovina after Serbian aggression divided their living patterns. All nations struggle. All nations can rebuild.

WE EXPERIENCE A COMMON EARTH. The lush fields of France and England hold no second fiddle to our American farm lands. The Plitvice National Park in Croatia is a true gem of God's creation. The Dalmatian Coast is stunning with its clear water and convenient harbors. Lake Bled in Slovenia is an intimate Eden. Clear, clean water.

WE EXPERIENCE GREAT ART AND SCULPTURE. There are the Michaelangelos, the Rembrandts, the Monets, the Hals, and countless more creations. One is struck by the patience, the skill, the sensitivity it takes to create a work of art. It is also revealing that artists are not actively killing people or maiming the earth, even though their expressions may inspire such actions. Art expresses our inner passions, our hiddenness yearning to break free. We can realize that each of us has art within, passions within, yearnings within.

WE REALIZE THE IMPORTANCE OF POLITICS. I am bullish on democracy! I think there is a reason why the Western nations are generally more progressive and concerned about human rights than oppressive systems. Yes, we realize that all systems have their "warts", but there are more creative systems in place within a democracy to deal effectively with needed changes. I also think European style socialism with a good mix of capitalism is a more humane governing system. National Socialism, Fascism, Communism are not the dominant political forms within Europe today. The Balkan War of the 1990s put an end to regional dictatorship and the Balkan nations are emerging with democratic governments. Do we have the humility to learn from each other? Politics is meant to be a force for good. Power to the people!

WE REALIZE THAT GOD LOVES THE WORLD. For me, John 3:16 comes alive through travel. God's grace connects us as brothers and sisters. This means we need to work together to take care of each other and our precious earth. No one is superior. No one has a lock on wisdom. We are all one family.

Rick Steves, a good ELCA guy and the best travel man in the world, says travel changed his politics to one that is more humane, more committed to a social contract, more justice for all people, rather than supporting a system where everyone can do anything to succeed as long as it is good for them. He is a staunch supporter of PBS, NPR, and Bread for the World, and has done historical pieces on Luther and Paul for the ELCA. He concludes his travel pieces by saying: "Keep on traveling"! I think it is a great idea!

Peace!
Ron