My job helps me travel all over the world. When I lived in New York, I went to Europe often. Frankfurt was fun, with delicious sausages and apple desserts. Switzerland was expensive, but the cheese products and the views were the best. The Alps were heavenly. Surprisingly, one of my most interesting adventures was in Paris.
Other countries are pretty comfortable using English, so it is easy to “feel at home” as an American when you are there. Paris was different because they preferred to use French. While I know some French, I didn’t realize that this was their preference.
Traveling in Paris taught me about the way that I travel, more than just the city itself. During my time traveling in France, I learned how to listen to and appreciate the culture that I was experiencing in a deep and meaningful way.
Here are a few ways to travel more meaningfully:
Listen to the locals and ask their advice. We have to be brave, but I have asked shop staff members, or my waiter at the restaurant, where are their favorite places to eat, visit, experience something if I have already explored the major sites. This is how I found my favorite patisserie in MontMartre.
Observe and emulate. Watch what the locals do and then enjoy a similar experience. As a flight attendant, I find the best way to quickly enjoy a place is to experience it the way that the locals do. If many of them seem to be enjoying a particular coffee shop or park, I will copy them!
Be interested. Ask questions. Of course, if it is your first time, you may want to take a tour that explains all the famous sites. But if you have the chance to visit more than once, I would highly recommend staying at an AirBnb or at a Bed and Breakfast that allows you to interact with local people, not just paid tour guides.
Be aware. Everywhere in the world has its own risks, and tourist areas are always a target for bad people. Be mindful and aware of your environment. Of course not everyone is scary, but just be smart about your choices. We don’t flash our money or our valuables in public at home right?
In every city, the people and their customs are the true prize. Paris, more than most cities, seems very proud of its people, food and heritage. Anywhere that you go, show interest in the people. It will open so many doors for you and make you have such a unique, beautiful travel experience.
This blog is written by Kristen Bailey, a director of Harmony International.
Please read on.
The Art of Doing Nothing
Did you know that you can appear to be doing nothing, but actually healing yourself?
This pandemic taught me many lessons. Living in California during the COVID-19 lockdown and quarantine, I learned our mental health is just as important as our physical health. Many people experienced extreme stress, unable to go to their jobs or to visit friends or family. Stores, restaurants, and every other “non-essential business” shut down, causing many people to be unemployed.
It was during this difficult time that I realized the truth: “We cannot truly help others without first taking care of our own condition.”
Sitting outside under great trees, I watched birds hopping and squirrels pulling fruit off of my neighbor’s tree. Focusing on my inhale and exhale, I was training my mind to slow down just like my body. I spent my time getting my yoga teacher training certification when I couldn’t fly for my job as a flight attendant with an international airline.
Being a flight attendant, we always tell passengers, “If there is an emergency, you have to put on your oxygen mask first and then help others!” We tell passengers this because if they can’t breathe during the emergency, then they pass out before they can help another person!
Taking care of our mental health before we care for others can be done in small gestures that make a big difference. For example, when we are angry, we can take time to walk, breathe, be calm, and then to be honest with the other person. It is mentally healing to be honest about our feelings to ourselves and to others.
As parents and caregivers, it’s easy to get so busy feeding other people, caring for other people that we burn out and forget to care for ourselves. Statistics show that our mental health impacts our lives in a very real way. According to information from the Center for Disease Control and the National Alliance on Mental Illness in the United States, “Depression and anxiety disorders cost the global economy $1 trillion a year in lost productivity.”
Our self care does not have to be selfish, but can include and help our loved ones at the same time. For example, when things get very busy or stressful, choosing to make a specific time to enjoy nature together with our children or family, to journal and encourage them to write or draw too, or to practice breathing exercises together are all helpful ways to stay mentally healthy.
As I return to my work as a flight attendant and life gets busier, I find little ways to heal myself. As a Christian, when I pray and explain my thoughts and feelings to God, I find inner healing. I truly can feel God is helping me through difficult situations. Prayer itself is a type of inner healing.
Sitting in my yard again, beneath the tree and surrounded by my orange, lemon, fig and flower trees, I may look like I am doing nothing. Sitting very still, I listened to my inhale and my exhale. Inside, controlling my breathing, I was doing healing inner work. Some doctors say “Doing nothing is actually doing something.”
Let us be kind to ourselves so that we can be more kind to others.
