Stage 12: Humbled
Humbled
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.
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We Discuss
Why travel is humbling
What humbles you about travel
Coming out as gay in another country
Monastic life
The evolution of language
How many sounds the human mouth can make
Why traveling makes you feel tiny
Why languages are fascinating
Culture shock
Why culture shock is so hard
Why culture shock is so intense
Being humbled in nature
Women in nature
Post trail blues
Post trail depression
How to cope with post trail depression
How to get over post trail depression
What is post trail depression
El Camino
What is the El Camino
How to hike the El Camino
Which route to take for the El Camino
The philosophies around the El Camino
Why you should do the El Camino
Why traveling is spiritual
How to be spiritual while traveling
Where to go to be spiritual as a traveler
Why travel causes spiritual reckoning
Most popular pilgrimages in the world
What are pilgrimages?
How to do a pilgrimage?
Why do we still do pilgrimages?
Can you do pilgrimages with children?
Why are pilgrimages so life changing?
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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 Straub
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.
References
Meditation
How to Meditate: Mindful
Headspace: Meditation App
Language
Phonemes: Wikipedia
Through the Language Glass: Guy Deutscher
The Unfolding of Language: Guy Deutscher
Hiking
Post trail blues : The Trek
Coping with Post Trail Depression: Outside
Pilgrimages and El Camino
What is the El Camino: Camino Ways
Most popular pilgrimages: World Travel Guide
Strangers Abroad is a travel podcast hosted by solo female traveler and storyteller, Adrien Behn. Strangers Abroad is ‘ This American Life’ for travel. Each show we bring you a theme and multiple perspectives on that theme. Each theme is a stage we experience when we travel and dissect it from every angle to make our listeners travel richer.