Take a minute and think about of how many times today you were interrupted by your phone. How about the number of things that you’ve started but have yet to finish. Or the number of times you have typed on the computer while talking on the phone? Or looked at the phone while driving? Or talked to your friend, employee or your spouse without even looking them in face because you were doing something else?
I have a question for you: is time escaping us or have we simply become too frantic?
We are living intense lives and sometimes much faster than we can even perceive. We operate on autopilot, always on the run, without stopping even to breathe.
What am I doing with my life? What good have I done? What I have done for myself and for others?
Instead of resting, we torture ourselves with unnecessary things from our daily lives, our relationships, personal activities, the shopping list and work. We feel distanced from our essence of ourselves, family, friends, society and the world.
And finally when we have a calm moment, we ask ourselves:
What am I doing with my life? What good have I done? What I have I done for myself and for others?
Instead of resting, we torture ourselves with unnecessary things from our daily lives, our relationships, personal activities, the shopping list and work. We feel distanced from our essence of ourselves, family, friends, society and the world.
But don’t worry!
If you can relate to all of this, then you share the same anxiety that I am feeling in this very moment writing this, you are not alone.
I did not come here to present a magic formula, or to give you the 7 most effective advice on how to best use your time. I came here to tell you that many people who feel like this, have found a very cool way to stimulate change within themselves: they are using travelling as a tool for inner transformation. They’re discovering transforming experiences!
There is a very cool concept of traveling called community based tourism. This means that there are trips in which the tourists have a direct and active interaction with the community that they are visiting. These communities are normally very traditional and located far from densely populated areas like big cities (it does exist, but most are far away). The intensity of the experience is directly connected to how open and curious the tourists are to get to know the daily lives of these communities, either through cooking, cultural exchanges, craftwork and/or productive activities such as agriculture or fishery.
We can assure you that this kind of experience is TRANSFORMATIVE.
It transforms the community, preserves their customs and traditions, increases their self-esteem (after all, the main attraction is the community itself) and of course, increases their income that will consequently improve their lives.
But it also transforms the tourists, who gets to experience a completely different reality than their own. They will be presented with an opportunity to broaden their horizons and, get closer to feelings of simplicity, gratitude, and love for people around them. In short, they will be transformed.
NOTE: To prove that this is not only in my head, please read some testimonials from those who travelled to the Jequitinhonha Valley in Minas Gerais with us and see how they’ve lived transforming experiences:
I loved it! I went expecting simplicity, carrying less burden. I wanted to learn how to get that as well in Sao Paulo. However, what I found was much more than that…a lot of strength, a lot of energy. I was asking myself: first, where is that coming from? Where from do these women get the power to write the stories of their lives? The answer: what they have in their hands is enough. What nature provides them with. The clay. The art. It’s an inner journey. We forget to live. You have no idea how much people grow with that experience. Thanks for making this trip so meaningful!
Helena Dornellas, São Paulo / SP
It’s good to disconnect and change the location. I loved it! Especially the people. I valued very much what I had. However, I’ve never met women like these. They are amazing! They explained to us everything: from how they say “good morning” to how they host travellers, educate their children or support their families. I am so grateful that you showed me this world. Although I live in the countryside as well, the world of these women is much deeper than the one I am living…yes indeed!
Regina Tavares, Petrópolis / RJ
