Processing a Journey Around the World: Embracing Paradox

After traveling the world for four weeks, traversing through London, Paris, Porto, Lisbon, Moscow, St. Petersburg, and New York City, I am finally venturing home to Chicago. As I sit in seat 25F, 36,000 feet above the earth, the horizon a pleasant shade of pale blue and white, I am thinking about the meaning that I can make from this month-long adventure.

First, I am filled with gratitude. I am fully aware that few people today or across the history of time have been able to travel the world in this way. While my business school network’s social media activity may convey otherwise, the vast majority of the world cannot and does not live like this, and it is an immense privilege to be able to do so. I am grateful. And so, while proportionally few get the chance to do what I’ve done, perhaps my brief reflections may provide some insight to those who are interested.

Here is what I’ve learned. The world is a harsh juxtaposition and complicated paradox. It is filled with glory, and beauty, and love; it is also rich with defeat, and destruction, and the presence of evil. 

My trip primarily reflected the former; Carmen and I toured endless mosaic-filled cathedrals, spanning vistas, buoyant restaurants, masterful museums, and inspiring theaters. We connected with friends and family all over the world, shared meals, drank wine, and engaged in cross-cultural conversations about careers, countries, people, politics, and stories of history. We relaxed on beaches, rested on shaded park benches, and cruised along river ways and lakes. 

Concurrently, we learned the darker stories from history and read daily news headlines on our phones illuminating the presence of terror in the world. In the past - rooms designed for torture in the Tower of London, public executions in Paris, Portuguese wealth derived from the slave trade, the widespread kidnapping and killing of political dissidents in Soviet Russia. In the present - mass shootings in the United States, the detainment of children and separation of families, tear gas and rubber bullets fired upon protesters, a warming planet, fraying global relationships, and hateful rhetoric which scapegoats and echoes of the past. 

We are all of this. We are beautiful and capable of so much goodness, and we are ugly and capable of so much ill. What is both terrifying and hopeful is that it is up to us, in each moment in history, including this one, to shape our collective story and determine which way the wind will blow. Toward justice? Toward hate? We decide. While at times tyrants and fools and mobs emerge, they can be counteracted with love, and decency, and courage, and individuals’ willingness to put their personal lives and energy on the line to push back, to say, “There is something bigger and more important than myself, and I am willing to risk my well-being in service to the larger whole.” Protesters advocating for freedom. Peasants demanding a greater share of prosperity and a larger voice in governance. Teenagers sparking movements to diminish death and destruction from guns. Again, it is never guaranteed how it will play out, but as someone returning from a journey around the world, I remain hopeful, inspired by the stories of others, and doggedly optimistic.

Here’s one quick story that bolsters my belief. Helena was born in the USSR in 1941. Before turning five years old, her city, St. Petersburg, was under siege by Nazi Germany, and one third of the population died of starvation. Roughly one million people. She survived. As a teenager, she lived under the dictatorship of Joseph Stalin. Following a string of dysfunctional leaders and ill-advised central planning, the Soviet Union fell, followed by a decade of uncertainty, only truly stabilizing at the turn of the century. Last week, Helena baked me fish, invited me into her home, which her family has lived in since 1884, and enthusiastically conveyed optimism for the future of her country. She inspires me, and I believe that if the world is filled with more like her, we will be in good shape.

Now, I cannot the decide the fate of the world, but having seen a good portion of it, I do know how I want to live. I will live in the light. I will love others who disagree with me and actively seek them out, listening to their thoughts and respectfully sharing my own. I will act in alignment with justice, I will speak out against hate and racism and sexism and messages of mindless division. I will do what I can to help the planet, adjusting my diet to consume less meat, recycling, promoting green policies and energy, and choosing my means of transportation more thoughtfully. I will speak my mind at the expense of my popularity and potentially put myself at risk for the well-being of others, should the opportunity arise. 

Again, the world is a complex paradox, and I embrace it. Making sense of it and choosing how to live is not easy, but as I begin my descent into Chicago, I encourage you to take steps to get to know it personally and to make decisions that leave this place a bit better off as a result of your existence. 

That is my plan, at least.

All the best,

Josh