Common Themes

Traveling the world, seeing different cultures, common themes of humanity emerge.

Religion:
In every single country and every single culture we have seen on our Big Trip, people believe in something for spiritual enlightenment or salvation and relief from earthly suffering.  They invest significant resources for places and spaces for enlightenment and/or worship and/or the afterlife.

The inside of the 700 year old Tlacolula Church

Violence:
In every single country and every single culture we have seen on our Big Trip, people have a history of oppressing each other and/or forcing their personal views or opinions or cultures on people with different views or opinions or cultures.  In some countries and cultures, the violence was hundreds of years ago.  In other countries and cultures, it was tens of years ago.

A reproduction of a Mexico government torture room from the 1970s

Art:
In every single country and every single culture we have seen on our Big Trip, people use art as a vehicle for expressing their world views, bearing witness to history, and/or protesting oppression and violence.

1970s art highlighting institutionalized violence in Mexico

Food:
In every single country and every single culture we have seen on our Big Trip, people savor the flavors and fill their bodies with more than just calories.

Chocolates, chili, and crickets - typical and delicious ingredients for Oaxacan food

Love:
In every single country and every single culture we have seen on our Big Trip, people have hope.  They love each other.  They fill their lives with color and joy.

Our house for two weeks in colorful Oaxaca City

Nadia

Impressions of Samoa

Lush, tropical, and green
Colorful
Familiar friends
Coconuts and more coconuts
Devoted Christians
Heavy afternoon thunderstorms
Black volcanic rocks
Slow calm pace of life

Nadia

Questions

So much of our big trip has been visiting holy places or participating in or viewing spiritual and religious ceremonies.  We have learned a lot (a ton!) about the diversity (and similarities) of people's spiritual and religious beliefs and practices in the nine countries we have visited so far on our Big Trip (including the UAE, Thailand, Laos, Indonesia, Palau, Singapore, India, Bhutan, and now, Myanmar).

Praying in Amritsar, India 

It has been fascinating and has left me with so many questions and thoughts about religion and spirituality.

Is it an acceptable life choice for boys to enter religious schools at eight years of age to learn religious history and to dedicate their lives to their religion if they are Buddhists?  What if they are Christians?  And if they are Moslems (knowing that the Arabic word for school is "madrasa")?

Offerings in an ancient cave in Laos

Why are females no longer allowed to be Buddhist monks?  Why are females consistently left out of religious power structures?

Is it ok to label a religion violent when some people (who follow that religion) persecute and terrorize people of a different religion?  What about if people who are Buddhists abuse a whole community who are Moslems - is Buddhism, therefore, a violent religion?  What if it were the other way around?  When is it ok to label a whole religion based on the actions of some followers of that religion?

Are there any organized religions which do NOT include regular prayers?  Bowing the head?  Prayer beads?  Washing?  Donations?  Fasting?  Some form of meditation?

Lighting candles in Yangon, Myanmar

What is the job description of a monk?  What does it involve other than living in a monastery or religious center?  Which moral rules do monks follow which are different than those of other believers?  What is the difference between a monk living on society's donations and someone temporarily living on social welfare in a socialist country?

The water purification ceremony in Bali, Indonesia

What would the world be like if humans had used the resources they have spent on religion for other purposes?   Think about all those beautiful and elaborate temples and churches and mosques, with all those carvings and paintings and bricks and marble and glass windows. Think about the leaders' rings and crowns and robes and homes.  Think of those wars across Asia and Europe and the Americas and the Middle East.  Think of the lives lost in the name of religion over thousands of years - the lands colonized, the people subjugated, the heathens killed...  Is religion worth it?

Nadia