The Human Interaction

In this episode, Teena gives insight into how she picks her travel destinations, interacting with humans, and how she looks at the world.

I travel for a purpose; I travel with clear intention. I travel where there is a deeply rooted culture in the human essence of life and existence. I travel where the human existence embodies close relationships with nature and its offerings. By traveling with a purpose, I get to see how harmonious and symbiotic and necessary and fulfilling and functional these relationships are. I get to see how human interaction is a necessary component of everyone’s life. My travel experiences have had a direct impact on my philosophy, teaching me that the more diverse your outer world is, the more diverse your inner world becomes. 

Across the Cultures
Across cultures, the human interaction varies. In the United States, it would be considered “odd” if a child approached your table during a meal out in order to sell something. In Guatemala, this is typical. One of the highlights of our trip to Guatemala was being approached by young children at dinner. They’re there to sell you odds and ends, different knick-knacks. I often invited these children to join in eating with us. But in America, this kind of interaction would often be labeled as soliciting. Think about how inhibiting that would be; labels themselves are inherently inhibiting. They cast actions, thoughts, and behaviors as “good” or “bad,” massively influencing our thoughts and emotions around them. But at the end of the day, soliciting is no more than a human interaction. It’s just the means by which proximity is happening. 

I think I might be in my 19th or 20th year in traveling with purpose, traveling with intention. Traveling helps me come back into this world, into this lifestyle, fueled to do what feels right to me. Not what I have to do. Not what is easier for me to do. Not what I’m being made to do, but what is right for me. For me, I have always known how important it is to have these experiences in order to show up in the way I need and want to show up. 

Teena Patel is the founder of the canine enrichment campus University of Doglando for restricted canine companions. The University of Doglando is a place where dogs can be dogs and live a fruitful and purposeful lifestyle. To learn more about Teena Patel and the University of Doglando, please contact us online or call us at (407) 574-3160.