update
Human Beings
First, given the tragic situation in Israel and Gaza at the moment, I simply want to say this: I'm pro-human beings. I'm anti-innocent people being killed. I'm all in for peace. This applies to everyone, everywhere and it's what is most important to me.
It's been beyond heartbreaking to watch the situation unfold over the past 10 days. I feel for every innocent person, and their families and friends, that's been affected, especially the children. To say it's extremely difficult to watch the footage on both sides is an absolute understatement.
Whether directly or through a friend, I know innocent Israelis that were killed and others that are being kept hostage right now. I also know innocent Palestinians that have been killed by missiles as well.
It's simply horrible to see all the people who have had their lives completely shattered. Such suffering should be unacceptable to us all.
The Importance of Travel
As a result of my 23 years of travel, I have unwaveringly learned that the majority of human beings EVERYWHERE are good and kind. The majority don't want enemies and they don't want to see other people harmed.
I remind myself of this all the time. Otherwise, it's very easy to start classifying an entire people under one headline. It's important to remember that innocent, peace-loving people are generally, and sadly, the victims of conflict, on all sides.
When this current situation unfolded, I was leading my Wandering Earl Tour in Iraq. We were actually in the city of Mosul at the time, a city known for being a brutal base of ISIS for 3 years, right up until 2017.
And when I tell people that I am going to Mosul now, you can imagine the reaction from many. "Are you crazy?" "You'll be killed." "Be very careful."
The truth is that we spent our time in Mosul hanging out with beautiful people. Our group probably never smiled and waved as much as we did during our time there. And they probably never received as many smiles and waves as they received from locals during our stay.
We ate incredible food, enjoyed shisha in a palm-tree filled garden, shed tears and laughed as we interacted with the people we met. We visited markets full of welcoming folks and restaurants that were so ecstatic to have foreign visitors dining there. A trip to the shop generally meant you would receive something for free as the vendors cared much more about connecting with and welcoming us than making money. Every day was full of heartwarming moments, one after the other.
Things are rarely what we think they are. The gap between preconceptions and reality can be dangerously wide. The differences between 'us' and 'them' are actually not so big after all.
In fact, the differences are tiny. People are good. People are kind. People deserve respect. The more we realize this, the more we realize that much of the world's problems should not be problems at all.
This is why I travel.
