When You Travel…

“When you travel, take peacemaking, friendship, learning, and listening as your sacred duty.
Refuse to carry with you an empty head or an empty heart.
Give thanks for every human encounter, every animal, bird, plant, and being that shares this gorgeous planet.
Thank them, talk to them, and nourish them.
Let no greed or selfish thoughts distract you.
Let no anger, anxiety, or bitterness accompany you.
Travel unencumbered by too much stuff or by too many pre-conceived ideas.
Enter every new encounter with gratitude for another opportunity to learn and listen, to be the happiest and best travel ambassador on earth.
Affirm your natural ability to balance out the injustices of the world.
Know that hate crimes will cease when we listen to each other, when selfishness and envy are replaced with compassion, and when enemies become friends.
Hold in your mind a vision of a peaceful world where travelers are the sowers of the seeds of joy.”