By Returning to the normalcy of home life, and being once again immersed in familiar routines and in the mundane, it is strange to imagine that I was once in the most majestic of places, such as Florence, Italy. It wasn’t long ago that I was in Salzburg, standing inside Adolf Hitler’s hidden bunker. It was only a month ago that I was in Bruges, Belgium, gazing up at the wondrous St. Salvator Cathedral. There are parts of this trip for which the memory of them now seems almost surreal, like a dream, because of its great contrasts to the Canadian living experience. There is already a longing within me to return to what I had encountered in Europe, with the constant exposure to history, its ancient beauty, and its cultural magnitudes.
I DARED to share this feeling with a group: if there is anything that I have grasped from the Europe trip, it is that the world is so much bigger than myself. Think about this. Not only are you but one human being amongst billions who dwell the earth, each with their own story and unique cultural heritage, but you also live on a tiny planet amongst an entire universe that is indescribably more immense. The thought of being like a speck of sand on a grand, cosmic beach is something that scares me at times, but it also leaves me in awe. And I am left in awe from being on the Europe trip, because I am now fully aware that the earth is a grand and intricate place; there is much to learn about it, and so much to experience. I can no longer imagine keeping any part of myself boxed in, when everything within me now acknowledges that there is so much more. Looking at the view from the top of of Montserrat, Spain, is one of many experiences that confirmed this understanding.