Munza Mushtaq
If you ever think the world revolves around you, take a trip to the unknown, take a trip to a new destination and discover we are nothing but tiny atoms in this infinite sea of marvels.
Travelling has truly inspired me and helped me realise how insignificant we are in this otherwise gigantic world we call Earth. Over the years, I have met too many arrogant and self-centred men and women who assume the world revolves around them. These are humans who think they are the best thing that ever walked on this planet, and are akin to King Midas with the ability to turn anything they touch to gold.
When you’re confined to a single space it’s easy to assume you’re the best thing that ever happened to that space, but if you venture out if you take a trip down to the unfamiliar when you meet people from all walks of life, you realise, you too are just another atom like the rest of them.
Travelling shouldn’t be limited to jet setting to an exotic destination: it could be something as uncomplicated as getting into a bus and taking off to a land alien to you, with the thirst to explore every corner and embrace its beauty.
Every travel experience has taught me something new and has definitely contributed to my personal growth over the years. Be it to the slums in India or the most extravagant hotel in the United Arab Emirates, my trips to the unknown, to the new and the enigmatic, have taught me, enthralled me and helped me build a better and a more objective perspective about life.
Travel has truly contributed towards my evolution as a human being. It has helped me understand the need to look at every angle before judging a situation or making a decision. Travelling to the unknown has been beyond exhilarating, it showed me that if Sri Lanka is a tiny island, then we are even more minuscule as humans.
Travelling has taught me survival skills, and patience. It has helped me be a better human because it has shown me a world which I never knew existed due to the comforts within the walls of my home. It is because of travelling that I knew there was unimaginable poverty in India, Bangladesh and Haiti, which is something not many in Sri Lanka witness, at least not to such proportions.
My wanderings have taught me to be a survivor when I had to walk through the streets in Haiti which was infamous for its food riots in 2008, it was also the trip which helped me understand the true meaning of survival with a handful of chips and a bottle of cola daily for almost a week because the water in the port town of Jacmel in Haiti was suspected to be contaminated.
But, I have also been blessed to see and stay at one of the world’s most palatial man-made palaces known as the Emirates Palace, which is a hotel in Abu Dhabi, where I had my very own butler, Swarovski encrusted crystal doorknobs, gold plated cutlery among other outlandish luxuries all for myself during a brief stay!
For many in Sri Lanka, there is nothing greater than an English speaking person. Even marriages have been finalised due to the exceptional dialect of the Queen’s language! But a trip to Brazil taught me that English was almost alien if not unheard.
Back in the day, with no smartphones in existence, the inability to converse in Portuguese would mean you would either be stranded in the unknown city of Brasilia or go hungry because you cannot explain to the server at the restaurant that you do not eat ham, which is served in almost every dish, including sandwiches and burgers.
If you’re still unconvinced about why the English language isn’t as important as some make it sound, take a trip to Europe, maybe to France, Portugal or Spain, to realise how much they cherish their own language. So, if you’re Sri Lankan, don’t be embarrassed that you aren’t great with the English language, but be embarrassed if you are not fluent in the native languages of your land, because when you travel no one will give you a first-class seat on the plane free just because you speak eloquent English.
So, stop being so pompous, and instead look beyond the walls of your comfort zone, and see how tiny everything around you is, including you. But remember, being a tiny atom doesn’t in any way mean you are a useless atom, for even the tiniest of atoms have a responsibility while on earth. So find your purpose, indulge in it, and help make the whole world a better place.
