How Does Travel Humble Us?
The Episode
Traveling is one of the few times we see how tiny we are. Our ego bubble bursts, and we are forced to look at people who are coexisting with us but have their own complex worlds.
They have their own lives.
Their own dreams and desires.
Their own problems and pains that have nothing to do with you.
Or maybe we go for a walk in the woods and see how vast the forest is. Whether wandering through cities or forests, we realize how gigantic the world is and how tiny we are.
We are no longer the centers of our own universes.
And what comes is starting to see ourselves for who we are without getting swept away in a tsunami of insignificance. When we are stripped away from our comforts, our language, our environment, we start to see ourselves for the first time, like cleaning a mirror that has been ignored for years.
We tap into a deeper calling. We rewrite our spiritual paths and journey deeper into them.
In this episode, we are humbled. From coming out as gay to divorcing husbands for a road and getting over the post trail blues, we will talk to travelers who share times the world brought them to their knees.
Featured Guests
Richard Cardillo
Richard always knew he was different. But being gay in the 70s, even in New York, was still a taboo. So maybe if he denied it, ignored it, pretended it wasn’t there he would somehow transform into someone he wanted to be.
But the temptation was so strong he thought he only had one choice: become a monk. But even when that wasn’t enough, he had to get out of America to run from the desires that smoldered within him. So when he found out he would be going on a mission to Peru, he felt relieved. But being in a different culture didn’t mask the feelings Richard had: they heightened them to an unimaginable level where he could no longer ignore who he truly was.
Richard is a Moth Grand Slam winner and NYC storyteller.
Gale Staub
Gale has always been at peace in nature. So much so that she has created an entire podcast called She Explores. The podcast features the wide variety of experiences and reasons women hit the trails. The cliche is that women go into nature to heal and regain strength, but Gale is working to highlight all reasons women connect with nature. But there is no denying that nature has profound effects on our psyches, and she shares times where nature has been particularly humbling for her.
Lisa Morales
Lisa thought she was going for a walk. The El Camino had always been a bucket list activity she wanted to do, and when she turned 50, she thought it was about time to hike it. El Camino is known to transform your life. People jettison clothing, technology, and Lisa unloaded more than she could have ever anticipated.
Lisa is a travel photographer.