a transforming through travel
travel can be good for the soul
in ways I did not anticipate, until this trip to Germany,
in my psyche Germany has been a cautionary tale
of a people who went the wrong way,
of my ancestors who were called to leave it,
I did not feel drawn to it,
despite how much its recent story is of redemption,
of closing the door on a troublesome past,
and emerging into the open air of modernity
I ask a new German friend
what he is proud of in being German,
his rejection of the very question
taught me that each of us can make our own world,
our culture may give us hints,
but we should make our own decisions,
for that is where pride can be,
in a life that is well-lived,
built in how we treat ourselves and others,
this country is beautiful:
pastoral countryside, teeming gleaming cities,
impressive technology: great windmills everywhere,
solar panels, sleek fast trains and subways,
the digital and the electric, pervasive,
a richness of food and drink, particularly with beer,
an encouraging current openness to diversity in its citizenry,
despite some recent loud negative reactions to that diversity,
what I feel most transformational from this travel
is how much I need to transform myself,
to let experience open doors in me
and shake me loose from preconceptions,
so that all places and people come to me fresh,
and we can all evolve together in a shared reality.
by Henry H. Walker
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