The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page
By: philosiblog - Home of the Examined Life
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page. - Saint Augustine
If you traveled to Bolivia, you could find out about their customs, including their brightly colored blankets and their hats. Or you could read about it in a book or on the net.
The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page. What does that mean? This is an interesting way of making an analogy. One page of a book will only give you so much information. You will never know about what happens in the next chapter, much less at the end of the book. That is the fate of those who stay in one place, and never visit other places.
The flip side of that is the person who travels afar, and reads from the pages of each place that they visit. In this manner, they end up reading the whole book, page by page. And like a good mystery, reading a later chapter may just explain something read in an earlier chapter.
Note that if you just visit nearby communities with the exact same culture, you're going to read the same page again that you have previously been reading. It is my belief that the quote is urging us to learn more about each-other, that we may better understand the whole of the book which is the world.
Why is learning about others important? Beyond attempting to satisfy my nearly insatiable curiosity, there is a lot to learn from other cultures and viewpoints. Whether you believe their viewpoints or not, it may help you understand why others do what they do and the reasons they believe it is proper and correct to do them.
That can help bring greater understanding, and hopefully avoid some of the misunderstandings that have plagued mankind throughout history. If you are not familiar with the customs of others, how easily might you offer an unintended insult? There are cultures where certain things are done with particular hands, and offering someone your hand could be considered an insult.
Knowing more about others also allows you to consider their views and beliefs in the historical context of their corner of the world. Those who come from the frozen lands might have different views than those who grew up in the sun-scorched lands, right? But you won't know if you don't read from their page of the book.
Where can I apply this in my life? Well, the point of the travel is to broaden your mind, so any activity which does that would be a good place to start. You may not know it, but in the USA (and perhaps other places as well) there is a channel called "The Travel Channel" and it specializes in showing interesting places to see or visit.
I have seen interesting shows on all parts of the world, as well as the history of a people, and some of their best tourist destinations. If you get the channel, it's a very low cost way of traveling and learning about others, their history, and a little about how they think.
There are plenty of other shows scattered across the TV dial which provide information on foreign destinations. There are plenty of resources on the TV, if you can find them, and find the time to watch them. Of course, the availability may vary from country to country.
The next stop might be the local library or book store. There you will find books from travelers past, historical references, as well as publications from other countries extolling their history, culture, and tourist sites. That is a lot to read, if you can make the time.
Another possibility is the internet. There are plenty of photo-based blogs or journals from trips around the world, with descriptions of the fun that was had, and the interesting people who they met. You might even get a little bit of culture or history in some of them, depending on what their personal interests were.
You might also be able to find and talk with local people who are from far away places. Most large towns in the US have associations dedicated to people from different countries. I am familiar with Sons of Norway, as that is where my Grandfather (morfar) was from. I imagine you could find individuals or groups from many parts of the world, if your town is large enough, or you ask enough people.
One last option that you could check out, before traveling yourself, is to look for places in your area where tourists come to visit. Talk to them, and as you answer their questions about you and your culture, you can ask them the same about yours. Language, as always, may cause difficulties, but I believe it is worth the effort, even if the communication is a bit broken.
Finally, you could actually travel to distant places. That's kind of pricey, but if you can afford it, you can go where you want, and find out what you desire about a country, a culture, or a people. Just be sure to take pictures and notes, so you can write your own travel journal or even book, and help the next person who has questions.
And that is how the world becomes a safer and saner place. One person at a time, taking the time to understand their neighbors.
About philosiblog
I am a thinker, who is spending some time examining those short twitter quotes in greater detail on my blog.
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Good advice, and I've been taking it for years. During my lifetime I've travelled to 17 different countries. And for those who have things to say about China who have never been here, I think that what you say about it now just might change if you spend a little time here.
I kind of agree with you , kind of dont agree. When we were kids very little was known or publicized about how the rest of the world lives. Today, there are more videos and information than anyone could ever digest in ten lifetimes.
I know you cant see it, but this is the link to a You Tube video that is a one hour walking tour of Beijing and it absolutely can give you a sense of what parts of the city are like.
Beijing, CHINA - Qianmen Shopping & Food Street 4K Walking Tour - YouTube
And there are countless other videos about visiting china and almost every where else in the world.
here is a screen shot from the video showing a street with food vendors
But are there not many who form opinions who don't bother to watch those videos, or make any effort to learn about the culture and traditions of others?
Could we even count how many images like that that I have posted on NT? Actually, a North American big city's Chinatown gives a more accurate image of more traditional scenes.
But what those two images indicate is how modern and similar to any big North American city much of China's big cities are. When you get out of the big cities, the images can be very different.
My point is you dont have to travel to India to see what life in India is like. There are countless videos.
I even saw a video about the Confucius museum.
Many times I've pointed out when I post a list of movies, or books, etc. that the list that I may have chosen to post is one of many, each having different content depending on the particular tastes of the author. Do you understand what I mean? But when you are actually there, you see with your own eyes.
Well of course its better to "be there". Its just not practical for a lot of people to travel overseas.
The quality of these 4k videos is so good and so clear now you can sometimes feel like you are walking down the street with the cameraperson.
There is a guy who posts you tube videos of himself walking down various streets and various areas of Chicago at least a couple times a week. I guess he is making money off it somehow ortherwise I dont know why he would make so many. But videos like this could definitely tell someone from another place in general what Chicago looks like. And they have the same sort of thing for New York , lA , San Francisco, Miami, London, Paris, Istanbul, and countless other places.
screen shots from a video about Chicago's Riverwalk district.
Screenshot with food vendors?
OK so now you know exactly what that food tastes like!
But I don’t— could you please give me an idea what food tastes like? What, if anything, it smells like?
What are those people like? How do they act when you buy food from them?
Happy?
You got the point of what i've been trying to say.
LOL
Heh!
(I usually do...)
I don't remember if I mentioned this before, but in Junior High school we all had to take "Career Tests"-- which supposedly indicated what career path we should take. I scored highest in "Lawyer".
(Although I've never been one..heck, I never even POOTV!)
When I retired from my law practice I took an aptitude test. It indicated that my best aptitude was to be a farmer. I could have been one back before I married. I could have bought this farm for $15,000.
Total of 300 acres, includes a wholly enclosed 35 acre clean spring-fed lake, 65 acres cleared and 200 acres of forest. The bungalow house has water pumped from the lake and a drilled well and a septic system, a barn, a fishing cabin beside the lake, a buried electricity power cable from the road and an abandoned brick one-room (plus basement washroom served by a drilled well and septic system) schoolhouse beside the gravel rural road, where I was to take the photo.
The owners wanted to retire and were willing to take 1/3 down and a 10 year mortgage back for the balance to provide them with some income.
It is one of my few regrets that I didn't buy the farm and then rent it out to two families (the house and a renovated schoolhouse home) until I was ready to give up the law.
John-- have you done much traveling?
Any outside of the U.S.?
I 've traveled to quite a few, I don't remember how many (possibly slightly less than 17?), I've been to 4 of the 5 continents the only one I hasen't been to is South America. There was a time when I visited Mexico every summer for 4 or 5 summers in a row.
Never been to Australia-- is that considered an actual "continent"-- or a "sub-continent" ?
A lot of what I saw were not the typical "tourist sites". I've lived in 4 different "intentional communities"-- some with a somewhat "mildly" religious or spiritual orientation, two political (actually on two separate occions I lived under a Communist system, albeit an unusual form of it).
I wouldn't be suprised if some of our local experts google it or watch videos and explain to me what's it like to live in a Communist system (without them, of course, having ever living under a Communist system...)
You don't have to be a Communist to live under a Communist system. I'm proof of that.
Fortunately my work never required me to travel outside the United States. And I have never had any desire to do so. I live in the United States so all these cultures come to me; I do not need to go to them. The number of foreigners attempting to enter the United States by any means tells me that the world is an inhospitable and unfriendly place.
Travel is expensive, environmentally damaging, and generally a miserable experience.
Wow!!!
I've met people from more than 17 countries and I didn't need a passport. Universities in the United States attract a lot of foreign students from everywhere around the world. And you won't encounter the stereotype culture intended for tourists, either.
Isn't that amazing?
I especially like the parts about "the world is an inhospitable and unfriendly place" and travel being "generally a miserable experience" coming from someone who has never traveled.
I have logged almost 200k air miles -- the hard way. I said I never traveled outside the United States. I didn't say I haven't traveled.
And each one had their own specific viewpoint about where they were from.
It's possible that I've travelled to more places in the USA than Nerm has, and I'm f'm not an American.
I like something that Will Smith said. To me, his words could be extrapolated to mean the world instead of the school.
So he doesnt want to travel, so what?
There was a time when being well traveled automatically equated to being better educated, or frankly, financially more well off. In 2025 you dont have to travel around the world to know what is going on around the world.
Yep, especially when the media is so impartial.
I've been to many countries around the world (22 at last count if I remember correctly, some more than once) and people have always, with few exceptions, been very hospitable and friendly wherever we went. I do have to admit that flying has become awful. We just went to France again in June. I love France and have been there several times, but that may have been our last venture away from home.
It is unfortunate that the "getting there" aspect of travelling has become so onerous. Not having left China for about 18 years I've not had the occasion to be aware of it. Back when I first came to China 19 years ago overnight travel by train was not pleasant, but these days the superfast train travel is great. And I will never leave where I am now, so I never intend to get on an airplane again.
I agree!
That's one aspect of 'travel' that I dislike; the competition. So, you have more money, have more free time, enjoy being pampered.
You win! I don't want to be that kind of person.
The bullet trains in China were great. The bullet trains everywhere we've been have been excellent.
It was the point of the article. You don't want to be that kind of person, and I don't want to be an asshole.
tells me that the world is an inhospitable and unfriendly place.
Well. at least you're not into over-generlizing much!
There's a famous quote about that:
"the mind is its own place, and in itself can make a heaven of hell, a hell of heaven"
Well, what do the number of immigrants risking their lives to enter the United States by any means tell you about the rest of the world? Why should I want to travel to a country that people are trying to escape?
Again Wow!!!
I have done a lot of traveling-- in the U.S. but also much overseas. I have met Mexican immigrants in the U.S.-- and many in different parts of Mexico.
This may come as a surprise for you since you say you never traveled outside the U.S, but its quite a different experience meeting people from a particular country who are actually living in that country. Mexicans who are living in the U.S. seems like different people than Mexicans who've only lived in Mexico!
Do you understand the difference between being a tourist and being a colleague?
St Augustine died 2000 years ago.
Yes St Augustine died long ago!
And while we’re on the topic, let’s not forget Jesus himself— who actually died long before that!
But travel back then was much slower and more difficult than it is today.
Not if you rise from the dead, be born again-- and forwith resume your travels!
Is that a real word-- or just something I made up-- a mere Fig Newton of my imagination?
I think you omitted a "th".
You are right! Been tired tonight, making lots of typos, usually correct them before I post a comment, but tonight corrected a lot but missed a few.
I do typos due to my eyesight and I'm not a perfect speller. The problem I have with this computer is that I can't get the spellcheck (red underline) to work.
Marco Polo died 700 years ago and actually traveled to China.
(I don't know if Buzz can open this video. This is a video on Instagram that presents an overview of the events and exhibits celebrating Marco Polo's travels to China.)
Would there be spaghetti had it not been for Marco Polo - he spent years in China. Instagram is blocked here.
No wonder you can't get a good bowl of Spaghetti in China!
LOL. I've got spaghetti sauce and make it myself.
Maybe we can get the Chinese to stop blocking Instagram-- so that Chinese people can enjoy Spaghetti just like we do here in the U.S. (and Canada).
Although I imagine Spaghetti might taste a bit strange with Maple syrup on it.
Not likely.
Augustine of Hippo (St. Augustine) was born in 354 A.D. and died in 430 A.D. Closer to 1,600 years ago. He was not a contemporary of Jesus or his disciples.
my bad
Minor detail.
Makes a lot of sense when you think about it-- in fact it should be obvious. Saint Augustine. How could there be Christian Saints...before the existance of Christ...and the Christian Church?
First comes the religion, then comes their Saints!
Unless, of course you believe in reincarnation-- and the Time Warp!*
_______________________________________________
*Time Warp is from the 1975 play (and movie?) "Rocky Horror Picture Show"
Can there be saints who aren't Christian? When a person is really a good person, people say he/she is a saint, and they could be athiests, or some other religion.
Reminds me of a saying:
Is the Pope Catholic?
Usually the correct answer is of course "Yes". But there is an exception. There are indigenous Christians in Egypt (who were there long before Islam was even invented). They are called "Copts".
Coptic Christians.
They call their spiritual leader their "Pope". So in that case...no, that Pope is not Catholic! (He's the Coptic Pope).
Of course, no one suggested that Augustine was declared a saint before there was a Christian religion. In regard to your comment, it is Interesting to note that many of Jesus's disciples, who were his contemporaries, were deemed to be saints, after the development of Christianity, of course. Even more interesting is the fact that the disciples who knew Jesus and were declared to be Christian saints, remained Jewish throughout their entire lives.
That, and Jesus himself, are the primary examples of Jews becoming saints. I wonder if the rulers of Christianity today would ever follow that precedent for other Jews.
Jesus is not considered to be a saint. I think holding that idea would be heretical, and could probably get you burned at the stake. For Christians, Jesus is the Son of God/God.
It was just a guess on my part, I didn't know.
But was he ever re-incarnated?
Perhaps even-- more than once?
I read an article a couple years ago that made some sense to me, not complete sense but enough to appreciate the writers point. It was that people travel too much. And all that traveling backs up airports which people then bitch about. When they get to their tourist destination the lines are long or the attraction is too expensive. My sister went to Versailles a few years ago and told me later that the lines were so long she and her family said the hell with it. Mt Everest gets clogged, dangerously so, from the amount of people trying to climb it at one time.
Many people know very little about attractions that are just 75 or a hundred miles from where they live. Some of us should just stay home and explore the "neighborhood".
I regret that having spent the biggest part of my life in Canada I never travelled to Canada's Maritime Provinces.
Neither have I.
In fact I've never been to most of Canada.
I've seen much of the U.S. but there a few places I want to see where I haven't yet been to. Pacific Northwest. New Orleans. Key West. Maine. More of the Berkshire Mtns. More of Wyoming, Montana. Asheville NC.
(I intend to see them-- and to totally disregard the warnings from local "experts" who are saying how terrible (and uneccessary!) travel is!)
Heck, you've convinced me that the world is a dangerous place! After reading your comment there'sno way I'm gonna go out-- you've convinced me, its better to stay home-- and hide under the bed!
As people here have so wisely pointed out-- the world is a dangerous place-- and perhaps more importantly-- rather than having to actually go out to explore your neighbourhood, its better to read about it, or watch a video-- safer-- and just as good if nof not better-- to read about it or watch a video!
LOL
Morning...have spent 1.5 years overseas in Europe, Britain and the Middle East in 1984/5...2 years later spent 4 weeks going through Scandinavia and Russia when it was still well and truly communist complete with KGB following us..
No regrets and had an absolute ball..yes you can run into some not to flash situations but nothing drastic and you get around it and chalk it up to experience..
I am glad I went when I did as now it's seems overcrowded and chaotic and so much more expensive...I have been to other countries as well..two of my friends are currently in Europe..
I love watching YouTube and the travel shows and it makes you feel like you are actually there and seeing the places again I had visited...I have often wondered what they are like now...
Travel is not for everyone and that's fair enough...
Now I prefer to see my own country...but as like the States distance is the biggest killer here and thousands of kilometres to reach places of interest can be a bit daunting..
There is a regular series here on the English language TV station called "Travelogue" where a couple travel to interesting places in China, and invariablly get to eat the local specialties. Unfortunately I don't get to taste and enjoy them as I would have had I been there.
IMO, currently that's also true of The United States!
Distance.
And prices here will be rising in the future as more and more tariffs begin to kick in!
It's on the way.
Although I have been to some places where a video may have shown me a lot more than I was able to see with my own eyes, I'm going to provide examples of two experiences where a video could never provide anything like what I experienced.
1. Petra. When I was in Israel the first time, my wife and I went, with a few friends from Toronto who were on the same trip, in a minibus to Petra in Jordan. On the way there we were stopped by 3 militants with rifles. Our driver, a Jordanian, spent at least 20 minutes begging the militants to not harm us (we were in danger because we were coming from Israel), and he succeeded in freeing us to continue on the way, but we were sure as hell damned scared. In Petra (and I have previously posted an article about Petra on this Discovery group) what I found amusing was that the young local kids set up a table beside the temple that was carved out of the mountainside and sold stones on it to tourists as souvenirs that they had themselves picked up off the ground all around the area that the tourists could have picked up themselves, and finally, on the way back the driver took us to his own home where we met his family who treated us to tea and local pastries. To re-enter Israel we had to go though a checkpoint, and the wife of my client and friend Harvey Atkin (Meatballs, Law and Order) said: "Okay guys, drop your pants and prove that you're Jewish", that got everyone around laughing.
2. Wales. My wife and I did a road trip around England and Wales during Christmas one year before we had kids. When we got to Ruthin, in Wales, in the late afternoon the day before Christmas Day, all the hotels were booked up and so were the B&Bs, so worried about where we would sleep, driving on the way out of town to where we started to see sheep in the fields, we saw a man taking down his B&B sign so we stopped and I begged him for a place to stay, said that we would even sleep in his manger if he had one (a reference to Jesus, if you missed it). He said they had just taken in a young American couple, but come in because they did have a very uncomfortable attic where we could sleep on the floor. He spoke to his wife and she said they couldn't do that to us so THEY slept in the attic and gave us their own master bedroom for the night. They trusted us entirely, the wife even leaving her jewellery out (we would NEVER have touched it), and they told us to go with the young American couple to Ruthin Castle where they hold an authentic Medieval Christmas Dinner, which we did. What a fantastic experience - Medieval music, mead wine served by girls dressed as wenches, fantastic food - what a fabulous evening. The next morning our host had drawn up a map for us with instructions to follow on our way to the coast in order to see the most interesting sites. After breakfast, and when we were leaving, I gave him the large sized bottle of Canada's famous Crown Royal rye whisky I had bought at the duty free on our way leaving Canada as a thank you for what he and his wife had done for us. It was probably worth 10 times what we paid them for the night, but the response from them that we got was something you would never see on a video.
Now tell me, all of you video watchers, that the experiences we had visiting Petra and Wales could possibly be matched from watching a video.
No...you can't beat personal experiences..
But for those who don't/can't travel it is better than nothing...
Oct 1984 London.. stolen motor bike went past us after a car accident at an intersection..cops had the road blocked off..the thief panics thinking it was for them, throws the motor bike to the road and slides and two guys take off..
Cops grabbed one guy straight off, the other heading straight for me and my Kiwi friend up the road..cops chasing him so I thought what to do..so I stuck out my leg and tripped the thief up..
To this day I can still see him flying through the air about 3 feet off the ground, landing and ending up underneath the front of a parked car...with his head bouncing up and hitting the bumper and he was running full tilt..
The cops raced past and one yelled well-done and they all pounced on him and carted him away...
Ended up having an ambulance trip to the hospital as I hurt my foot. It was just badly bruised so that was certainly abit of excitement for my Kiwi friend and myself...
Which by the way she thought the whole thing was hilarious...
Bravo, you're a kind of hero.
Apparently most of the people here would rather watch videos of Wales and Petra then actually have the experiences you could only have in person....
Well to be fair, I HAVE been to places where a video would have shown me a lot more than I did get to see, like Morocco or Switzerland.
Why does it have to be an "either ..or)? Why not do both?
A (wealthy) friend of mine goes on long trips to various parts of the world. Individually guided tours, always stays in first class (or better!) accomodations. Every summer.
Thoroughly researched so she knows the best places to go, best hotels, etc.Last year she went to guided tour of Morocco-- very thorough (then at the end a few days in France and Italy) .
Currently touring Scandinavia/Nordic countries. Usually Abercrombie and Kent tours.
Abercrombie and Kent "About":
Luxury travel company Abercrombie & Kent (A&K) is rebranding to become a brand of “aspiration” as the company looks to become the first brand people think of for luxury travel. Founded in 1962 by Geoffrey Kent, A&K offers luxury vacations, private tours, and small group adventures worldwide
I appreciate that humor, but should point out that Muslims (or most of them) also practice male circumcision.
Ooooops!
Don't worry-- many people (especially people outsideof the middle East or North Africa) don't know that!
And then there's "female circumcision" practiced in many Arab countries-- that is an unusually cruel practice!
Evening... currently watching YouTube and some guy is wandering around in the Canadian bush..it's -33c...and he is staying in a cabin in the middle of no where...and a bear has been wandering around outside...
You mob are nuts..🥶
LOL When we had our lakeside chalet we would sometimes take the kids at night to the local dump to watch the bears eating the garbage.