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October 26, 2009
Australia: Learning, Growing, Loving, Dreaming
I haven’t made my way Down Under yet (which is making me realize I really need to get traveling soon), but I’m fascinated by the mythology of the Australian Aborigines. To them, the land we dwell on is sacred—and while people will always come and go, the land stays, and breathes, and feels.
That’s why to the Aborigines, places like Ayers Rock are more than just monuments. They are inhabited by the spirit-ancestors who helped to shape the earth during the Dreamtime—a complicated yet beautiful set of beliefs that I thought was worth explaining to you in News & Views. No wonder, then, that the Aborigines work passionately to preserve Australia’s natural treasures.
As an Aboriginal proverb says, “We are all visitors to this time, this place. We are just passing through. Our purpose here is to observe, to learn, to grow, to love ... and then we return home.” I think this speaks to all of us as travelers, as we learn and grow from every new place on our path. Where have you grown the most in your travels? Tell me your story at
harriet@oattravel.com
I’ll be returning to Africa next in Harriet’s Corner, but I treasure your memories from all around the world.
Harriet Lewis