See the Wonders of the World While They're Still There!

I don't know how anyone could help but have deep empathy for the Japanese in the face of their current difficulties. Thousands have seen their worlds literally crumble and wash away, and the nuclear contamination is perhaps an even more frightening longterm scenario. It's another reminder that nothing is permanent, and indeed of how fragile life itself can be.

My old friend Sam might see this as signpost for dire implications of the Mayan Calendar's terminus in 2012. When it comes to end of the world scenarios, I tend to look more at Biblical prophecies, probably because of my Sunday School education. In college, however, I took a Religion class about the Hebrew prophets and learned that those prophesies had been fulfilled several times already.

In a similar vein, The Seventh Seal, a black-and-white movie made by Ingmar Bergman in 1957 that I saw in a Humanities class, indicated the apocalypse from Revelations had arrived in the Middle Ages when the Black Plague swept through the world.

In short, there has always been devastation followed by rebirth. The incredible courage of the Japanese people under such dire circumstances is inspiring, and Americans have again stepped up to help victims of natural disasters. It is the heroic story of humanity, and to our credit, we continue to evolve in an upward spiral despite the occasional disasters and stumbles.

Traveling the world gives us the opportunity to catch glimpses of humanity's remarkable past. Too many people, however, end up transfixed in their comfortable easy chairs, mesmerized by their TVs, laptops and iPhones.

My mother-in-law has been blessed to live a long life, but for the past several years, she has been bedridden. Do you think for one minute she ever wishes she had spent all of her vacations in a hospital bed instead of seeing the world?

Make no mistake. I know that travel does not encompass all of the wonderful experiences of life. Times spent with family and friends provide the bulk of our best memories. As children grow and spend increasing time with their peers, it becomes more difficult to find time together. At that point should we cling desperately to them, trying to force them to spend time with us? Or should we explore the world, giving us something to discuss with them other than telling them how to live their lives?

Just as the brave citizens of Japan will muster their intelligence and energy to rebuild their lives, parents must move beyond the pain of an empty nest when their children find their own paths, and when the inevitable happens, children must move beyond the pain of losing their parents.

In the mean time, why not take a cruise and explore Europe, the Caribbean, South America or whatever interests you?