A World of Experience

Leisurely travel is a privilege. While experiencing diverse cultures and peoples can indeed be enlightening, a “worldly” person is not necessarily well-traveled. Similarly, lack of travel experience does not imply naivety.

Some of the most worldly people are those who have struggled throughout their lives. They may not carry luggage from plane to train or ship, but they tote their own baggage: the emotional burden that accompanies a constant striving, a chronic challenge and turmoil as they grapple with the worst of circumstances - situations most have never experienced and hopefully will never have to experience.

The experience of hardship after hardship, struggling to surmount one predicament only to find another waiting ahead.

The experience of feeling confined by the environment from which one cannot escape - aspiring to find better conditions but tethered down by a sense of responsibility.

The experience of never obtaining a respite: time will not stop, the demands of life will not stop, and one must continue despite the reluctance, frustration, and despair.

The experience of unrelenting guilt and inadequacy, exacerbated by years of emotional abuse.

And the acknowledgment that life may not become any easier or more pleasant - that, in fact, with time the challenges may only become harder while the motivation wanes more and more.

Many may not understand - and perhaps that is for the best. To understand entails such pain that nobody would wish upon any sentient being. Sometimes it is better to be ignorant.

But, at least, do not assume that worldliness arises from the acquisition of “flashy” experiences and travels. The most piercing experiences are often those that one would rather not share.