SustainablEthos

In a follow up to my fellow viajero, Sr. Tischer, I would like to ask everyone to join me on wishing him well on his impending journey (now T minus 7 days). It was about six months ago now that Mike and I finished reading a book by Brian Tracy titled “Many Miles to Go” followed by “The Lost City of Z: A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon” by David Grann. Both were based on each authors’ particular account of passionate and enduring travel to the most dangerous corners of the world. I highly recommend the former for anyone who seems to be at a crossroads in their professional and/or personal development. The latter is more for someone who may have dreamed of a future of fearless adventure with the added bonus of an engrossing history of South America’s most primitive civilizations and an exciting narrative into how country borders were originally created. Just make sure to do so before Brad Pitt brings it to theater (or so I have heard)!

Vicariously, I have fed off of Mike’s growing excitement and furor of preparations. I have just wrapped up the book “Vagabonding” by Rolff Potts, and, in addition to the plethora of useful travel resources, insight, and inspiration, I found one quote particularly edifying:

“The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only one page” – Saint Augustine

I feel this applies to anyone – young or old, career-oriented or still searching, the wildly courageous or simply imaginative. In a world that only gets more diverse by the day, yet more easily explored, it is almost imperative to seek to understand the varied lifestyles and customs that exist. I hope as the Information Era solidifies it produces and Era of Tolerance – one in which we can all realize we live with the same unanswerable questions but also the same surmountable problems. This will inevitably bring us more in tune with our environment, our local and global society, and our own inner spirituality (wherever it originates).

I recently heard some very encouraging insight; however, it’s proving difficult to precisely remember. To summarize, it speaks on the fact that no human progress has been made without questioning the methods, sources and basic understandings that we have grown accustomed to. It is with this mindset that I am approaching the volunteer opportunity in Ecuador, study on the progress Curitiba, Brazil has experienced in recruiting its citizens to take part in its organic rebirth, and all other stops in between. It seems my decision might be made.

Tags: Bahia de caraquez, bania, brazil, curitiba, Eco-travel, ecuador, Rolff Potts, south america, tischer
Posted in All, jesse | 2 Comments »