It is my pleasure to share an excerpt from Judah Freed’s Book, GLOBAL SENSE. Judah is has been an adult education and college teacher, a motivational speaker (four continents so far), a marketing consultant, a book publishing coach, a life coach, a men’s personal growth facilitator, a vision quest guide, and an energy healer. Judah’s book explores the global connection of all humans and encourages people to live deliberately because everything we say, think, and feel impacts the world. It is a fabulous book from an incredibly talented man – a book that will resonate with anyone who feels disconnected from the true human purpose.
~Shadra
Vacations that Make GlobalSense
by Judah Freed, Author of GLOBAL SENSE: The 2012 Edition: A spiritual handbook on the nature of society and how to change the world by changing ourselves
“Men tire themselves in pursuit of rest,” wrote Laurence Sterne. My life experience says that what we need most from any vacation is relaxation and self renewal. I see “recreation” is re-creation with our co-Creator. When I commune with nature, such as going for a mountain hike or swimming in an ocean lagoon, my goal is inner peace and the revitalization of my energies for everyday living.
Further, we need sustainable vacations. I mourn for the pristine Colorado mountain meadows forever rutted by sports utility vehicles. There is no point in going sightseeing if we’re destroying the very sites we’ve come to see. Instead, a growing number of people are enjoying “stay-cations.” They stay at home for a week or three, doing whatever they most love to do but have had no time to do — true leisure.
An emerging alternative is “ecotourism.” We pay to visit threatened places like the California redwoods, Florida Everglades, or even the Costa Rican rain forest. Our money goes toward ecological restoration and preservation. Hiring local guides and outfitters means these same local are not economically forced into clear-cutting the rain forest for subsistence farming or timber exports. For details and guidance, please visit the International Ecotourism Society at Ecotourism.org.
Another option is “voluntourism.” We pay to do service projects in remote villages, such as helping to dig a water well, build a school or staff a free health care clinic on a Native American reservation or some small village in a developing country. These are great multi-cultural awakeners for the whole family. However, we must be sure the project is really sustainable. Let’s be wary of our free labor taking away paid work from local residents. Let’s also be wary of commercial tie-ins that may ethically or actually undermine the good work we do, such as a an environmentally abusive transnational corporation using our labors for a “greenwashing” public relations campaign. For assistance and guidance, please visit Voluntourism.org.
What matters is that we think about the larger consequences of our vacation choices. We all live together on our interconnected world, so everything we do each day affects ourselves, our families, our communities, our nations, and planet. Since we have an impact whether we are conscious of this impact or not, we may as well make choices deliberately. Therefore, I support family vacations that make global sense.
Judah Freed is an international journalist, author, speaker, educator, communication consultant, media producer, book coach, and energy healer based in Hawaii. Judah Freed is the author of Making Global Sense, available for publication through Amazon.
