The threshold between feeling that there is an eternity until I get to come home again and feeling that there is far too little time left of this trip is a delicate tightrope. To my right is one way of being, and to my left is the other. For weeks, if you’ve been reading this, you’ve seen me falter in one direction and then lean back toward the other. But rarely have I considered that both things are true at the same time. Both feelings, though seemingly opposites, are always present equally. How much I feel one is dependent on how far I lean toward one side, like a tightrope walker losing balance. Rarely am I ever stable, aware that all things exist at the same time, perfectly steady on the rope. This is normal, and I believe, is also true for every seemingly opposing thing in the universe all existing at once.
What I think I’ve learned from this experience is that all perspectives can be true at the same time for those perceiving them. All religions people believe, all beliefs, all cultures. They are all real and happening at the same time, and where our personal opinions fall in regard to these things are dependent on what direction we lean on the tightrope. In other words, they depend on our perspectives, on how and where we’ve grown up, and on what we choose to believe. The beauty in travel or in any experience which helps to open our minds to other people and perspectives, is that it helps us to see the bigger picture: the whole tightrope and the different things that surround it, rather than only the ground in the direction in which we lean. All is possible, and all is happening all at once. As well, we can always choose how we react to something, how we choose to see it, how we choose to let it affect us or change us or move us, or not. When you see the whole tightrope, it’s easier to understand that. It’s also easier to see the whole world as a tightrope, and everyone on it the same just trying to gain their balance in different directions, and it’s easier not to judge and to be at peace with circumstances surrounding you.
If you want to read more about what I’ve learned on this trip and why I think it’s been so beneficial for me as a person, read my post that was published on the official AIFS blog today in honor of International Education Week. Find it here.
For notes on today, know that I studied and productively procrastinated a lot (obvious tip: never start a new, awesome book on a midterm week). I read a lot, but also got my exercise in, bought some needed items, volunteered at the Hello School, and studied. Now I’m going to relax and probably read more until bedtime. Goodnight, all!
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