Thoughts to Ponder...

All travel has its advantages. If the passenger visits better countries, he may learn to improve his own. And if fortune carries him to worse, he may learn to enjoy it."

-Samuel Johnson

Thoughts to Ponder

One hundred years from now it will not matter what kind of house you lived in...

What kind of car you drove...

What your bank balance was...

But what will matter is that you were important in the life of another.

--Adapted from a quote by Forest Witcraft

[Homeless in Milan]

Last night I was reading through a travel book - this time on Milan. I found myself getting so wrapped up in all of the incredible sites that we will see and the thrilling adventures we will encounter. As I stopped reading and sat back to reflect, I realized that I was missing the big picture.

No matter where I travel, my core intent is to always try to experience life as the locals do - the good and the bad. The sugar coating of the travel books had glazed my eyes and I was overlooking what really matters; the people.

In one hundred years, all that will truly matter is that I made a positive difference for the people I have touched whether in the USA, Pakistan or Milan.

Thoughts to Ponder

There are no foreign lands. It is the traveler only who is foreign.
-Robert Louis Stevenson

Thoughts To Ponder

"When you travel, it’s not like you take a part of each place away with you;
Rather, it’s as if you leave a part of yourself there, like a part of you forever belongs to that place – the time, the people, and the things you saw; and over time, it gets burned deeper into your soul. You eternally belong to it"

Anon

Thoughts to Ponder

"We live in a wonderful world that is full of beauty, charm and adventure. There is no end to the adventures we can have if only we seek them with our eyes open."

Jawaharal Nehru

Thoughts to Ponder

{via The Bottom of the Ironing Basket}

"Adventure is a path. Real adventure - self-determined, self-motivated, often risky - forces you to have firsthand encounters with the world. The world the way it is, not the way you imagine it. Your body will collide with the earth and you will bear witness. In this way you will be compelled to grapple with the limitless kindness and bottomless cruelty of humankind - and perhaps realize that you yourself are capable of both. This will change you. Nothing will ever again be black-and-white."

Mark Jenkins

Thoughts to Ponder

{via The Bottom of the Laundry Basket}

"I haven't been everywhere, but it's on my list."
Susan Sontag

Thoughts to Ponder - Mark Twain

Thoughts to Ponder - William Arthur Ward