Bonding

I travel around the globe. But what makes me different from other travelers? What sets me apart is that my journey isn’t just about me, but about how I make people around me feel. In other words, I’m no ordinary traveler, I bond with people with similar values and make them feel great.

In fact, I feel like I’m special because I make people feel like they’re at home away from home. And when people are facing similar challenges, that’s when people bond the most.

When it comes to traveling, I’m not the one doing the work; I’m the one making everyone else feel special.

It’s a sad day in history that the world has recently witnessed major events where people faced adversity and stood together.

I remember growing up as a kid hearing stories from my father about how his friends and family would stick together during tough times.

They were all bonded by their past, the challenge they endured and their story. I believe no longer do we have the same traditional values that we did.

Today, we live in a highly digital, social media-driven culture where people have become far more self-centered and egocentric. It seems community is largely lost during these times, and it seems that people are more interested in self-promotion and self-aggrandizement than promoting unity and camaraderie.

In this day and age, it’s becoming increasingly more popular to promote yourself and your accomplishments than to promote community service and outreach.

Due to this mindset, even my own community has fallen victim to this way of thinking.

When people are facing similar challenges, that’s when people bond the most. Bonds can be formed during a tough work assignment or an unexpected time of need. Bonds can also be formed in support of a cause or individual. It’s easy to see this in action while traveling. You meet a local who is friendly and willing to help you with directions and recommendations or you see tourists helping each other out when they’ve lost their way or got sick.

One of my first experiences with bonding happened on an assignment in the city of Lagos. Our driver was a local guy named John. We didn’t have a clue where we were going, but that culture is one where everyone knows everyone, so we asked and he knew. However, our destination was hours away and we had to go back on ourselves and drive for about two hours in the opposite direction.

We shouldn’t wait for challenges to always make us bond, instead we should use the challenge free time to show love and affection to one another.

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