My body traveled, my soul took me there.
It's difficult to separate body and soul but C.S. Lewis does a pretty good job of it.
What we think, what we decide, what we feel, that's soul; what we do is body.
My travels to exotic places didn't change my body, but my soul reinvented itself over and over changing who I was and how I perceived the world.
I've read about places and cultures but never understood them until I went there, lived with the people, and experienced their dreams and fears, so different from my own.
Travel softens the edges of your humanity, you become more empathetic as you realize there is more than one way to live. It's not always your way or the highway it's your way and their way, parallel universes spinning in the same direction by differing means.
I'm often asked what was my favorite country during my travels, that's the wrong question. The question should be why did I drop a life of comfort and convenience for one of adventure and discovery? That's like asking someone why they climbed Mount Everest, putting themselves in harm's way for no logical reason.
The answer is logic has nothing to do with it, it's metaphysical:
"Metaphysics is the branch of philosophy that examines the fundamental nature of reality, including the relationship between mind and matter, between substance and attribute, and between potentiality and actuality."
I'm not a philosopher, in spite of my liberal education. I'm a realist that discovered the magic carpet, a conveyance to places different from my place, to cultures different from my culture, and an understanding that there is more than one way to live my life.
Stay with me, as I continue my journey.
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