Three Days, Three Quotes Challenge – Day 3

I would like to think Shruti Ohri for this nomination. If you have not already passed by Shruti’s site, it is a tranquil place of poetry and of well-ground pepper-thought that steals the toxic fast pace of day-to-day blurs and replaces it with lovely thinky-thoughts. Shruti writes beautiful poems and touches on a range of interesting topics that I am sure you will enjoy. It is the perfect place to break with a cuppa.

Rules? No, I think we will call them ‘guidelines’.

1. Thank the person who nominated you
2. Post a quote for three consecutive days (1 quote for each day).
3. Nominate three bloggers each day.

“Travel makes one modest. You see what a tiny place you occupy in the world.”

-Gustav Flaubert

I like to think this quote causes us to open ourselves to consider not only the geographical vastness of our planet, but also the diversity of cultures, religions, ways of living, hardships and so much more that may only be fully appreciated with wide reading or, more ideally, vast travel.

Day in, day out, people in my cushioned safety-mat of a country lament the weather, bellyache about interest rates, or protest Brexit and related politics, when day in, day out, they all have a roof over their heads, a widescreen television, and free healthcare.

Every morning I overhear people as young as 11 years old complaining about the day’s timetabled lessons at their school, what is being served for lunch that day, or grouching about this teacher or that—but they always have a free education, a full belly of food, and a smartphone in their pocket.

If only more people realised how incredibly fortunate they are.

I wonder what those children’s morning conversations would consist of if only they had traveled and seen some more of the world?

Would they complain about having Geography with Mr. Topology if they had witnessed entire families living under a piece of corrugated iron wedged between two trees, where the thought of an education is a mere dream.

Would they complain about having to eat their vegetables if they had seen children their age gnawing on twigs to quench their distended, starving stomachs?

I wonder whether they would complain about the mud in cross-country if they had seen the children dying of HIV, or spoken to survivors of human trafficking.

And would they say homework was unfair after hearing the stories of the Cambodian Genocide from the mouth of a survivor?

Nominations:

Participation is entirely voluntary and there is no time limit to completing the challenge at all. Just have fun! 🙂

Honorarycounsellormuser

Jo

Shaun Jones