“Your assumptions are your windows on the world. Scrub them off every once in a while, or the light won’t come in.” -Isaac Asimov
Tosca Restaurant, Ritz Carlton, Hong Kong, China
A year ago my dad asked me to join him in Shanghai and then Hong Kong for his company’s Winner’s Circle trip. Honestly, I couldn’t have been more hesitant. With so many preconceived notions about China; about its food, people, politics and culture, I didn’t think it would be a trip I needed to go on to fulfill any desire or void within me. My travel ideals were always “Go to Europe! Go to museums! Go to beaches and see beautiful waters and landscapes.”
Lantau Island, Hong Kong, China
Instead of saying no, I thought I would check off the “China Travel Box” and never have to go back. I would have seen all I needed to see, and I could save myself from any additional sleepless 20 hour flights. You guessed it, I was wrong. Coming back from China, I couldn’t sleep. It wasn’t the jet lag. I would jump out of bed at 2am with an energy I’d never felt before; I would scribble down ideas for the future, creating maps and visions for all my life could be or lead to. I was filled with inspiration, and it was bursting at my seams. Anything was possible. The newfound energy I had didn’t form and expand because we went to see the big Buddha on Lantau Island in Hong Kong, or because we ate funky mushrooms and pickled duck tongues in Shanghai.
Ngong Ping 360 Glass Bottom Cable Car Experience, Hong Kong
It expanded because I opened my mind and heart to see a new place, people, food and culture, leaving all preconceptions I might have at the EWR airport like misplaced baggage. I didn’t pick up my phone to immerse myself in social media, and I didn’t keep up to date with anything happening at work; I was the most present being that I had ever been. By being as present as I was for such an extended period of time, I allowed myself to experience more clarity than I ever thought could be possible. So… go to China. Put down your phone, put down your preconception baggage, open your eyes and open your heart.
Yuyuan Garden, Shanghai, China
Go to China.
Pudong City Scape, Shanghai, China
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