Global Awareness for Travelers
Our Approach, Your Outlook
A French village, photo Denise Ames
This outlook encourages travelers to try…
expanding mindsets.
thinking holistically.
appreciating global perspectives.
holding balanced views.
Our program offers a unique approach to enhancing traveler’s global awareness…encouraging an open and flexible outlook
Our Approach
This subtle but effective approach gives travelers an understanding of the world which can inform them to wisely formulate their own views, thoughts, and actions.
“Remember that happiness is a way of travel – not a destination.” – Roy M. Goodman
Our outlook is our approach to travel, our attitude when traveling, or our generally mindset as we set out on our adventure. Having an open and flexible mindset when traveling is key to absorbing all the wonders travel has to offer us.
Preparing travelers outlook for practicing global awareness…
Four Suggestions
#1 Try Expanding Your Mindset.
A person’s mindset refers to the established set of attitudes held by someone. We all have opinions and views on different topics ranging from climate change to abortion. Although I am not suggesting that you change your views on different topics, I am suggesting that in order to better understand another’s person’s perspectives we might try expanding our mindset to appreciate an issue from another person’s viewpoint: To try carrying out the old adage “to walk in another person’s shoes.”
Example of Expanding Mindsets: When I traveled to Iran I had to wear a hijab and head covering. I chafed at wearing the hot and uncomfortable hijab every day. But gradually I began to expand my mindset and recognized that I was applying my Western views of how women should be treated to a conservative, fundamentalist Islamic society. Their views of women were quite different.
#2 Try Thinking Holistically.
The term holistic in the context of history and the social sciences looks at how the cultural traits of a society interact with, reinforce, and support each other. These cultural traits include politics, economy, technology, culture, religion, values, and the treatment of the environment. Changes in a cultural trait create a ripple effect, in turn changing other cultural traits. Holistic thinking looks at the whole system and the relationship of the parts to the whole and considers the long-term consequences of actions and events.
I use holistic thinking when looking at global awareness. All of the eight paths interact together and influence each other. When traveling I have found that it is imperative that we look at the place we are visiting in a holistic light. By this I mean that a society’s food, culture, marriage patterns, economy, politics, and religion all interact and influence each other. Nothing can be studied separately. Therefore, when we visit a particular place or country we can say that nothing stands in isolation, everything is hitched to everything else. When employing this mindset, we are thinking holistically.
Example of Thinking Holistically: When I traveled to Denmark, I could see that the strong cultural trait for collectivism more than individualism was reflected in their support of bicycle transportation, public order, and an extensive welfare society. They are all connected.
#3 Try Appreciating Global Perspectives.
Global perspectives, like global awareness, is another one of those nebulous terms that means many different things to different people. But I like this short but descriptive definition of global perspective by the Open Education Sociology Dictionary: A viewpoint that tries to understand the place or places of individuals, groups, cultures and societies in the world and how they relate to each other.
A conventional viewpoint, which sees one's own culture and way of life as the universal standard, is different from a global perspective, which sees multiple views of the world. A global perspective broadens and enlarges our viewpoints beyond our own conventional identity and culture—without abandoning them—to include a global mindset. We can, if we try, hold these two seemingly contradictory ideas at the same time. A global perspective helps an individual to formulate opinions about the world based on flexible inquiry rather than rigid, unexamined, or questionable assumptions. A global perspective is very useful when studying path #3 on worldviews and path #4 on cultural awareness.
Temple of Bacchus, Baalbek, Lebanon, photo Denise Ames
Example of Appreciating Global Perspectives: An American individual applying a global perspective recognizes that individualism is a key value in the U.S. but also realizes that it may not be of central importance in other countries.
#4 Try Holding Balanced Views.
Balance is having the right amount—not too much or too little—of any quality, which leads to harmony or evenness. When preparing our state of mind for our travels one of my favorites is to draw on the ancient Chinese philosophy of balance, seeing the yin and yang of all things. I have found that recognizing and seeking out this sense of balance leads to wisdom. An example of this sense of balance is avoiding single-cause answers to complex problems, since almost all issues require weighing multiple sides in order to arrive at lasting solutions. Considering different perspectives usually lead to greater awareness. Also, be wary of simplistic answers to complex problems since these are often naïve or misguided. Often times we will find that there is not a workable solution to a problem; instead, the least problematic solution is selected.
Example of Holding Balanced Views
When traveling we are always trying to balance contending situations, people, and emotions. Should I go out at night with fellow travelers knowing that I will be exhausted in the morning or should I rest up for the next day at the expense of having fun. Should I get involved in the drama cooked up by fellow travelers, or stay aloof and removed, and save my mental energy for my travels. You might admire the balance someone has achieved between attentiveness to the travel itinerary and laughing and getting along with everyone. These are examples of balance that show up during our travels and our real life. We are always balancing options.
Outlook
This four-part approach to enhancing global awareness gives travelers an understanding and outlook of the world which can help inform them to wisely formulate their own views, thoughts, and actions.