The Impact

Much of our conversations these days have centered upon a theme of “impact.” In fact, this also may be true of most of our blog postings to date. Impacts of tourism on culture and landscapes; impact of making eco-educated decisions on the future of the planet and of our time here; impact of our blog on readers; impact of disasters on local and global community; impact of western ideals on non-western societies and vice versa; impact of two American backpackers and hitchhikers traveling the world on their honeymoon. Any way you look at it, the simplest of our actions have an impact. Positive or negative, they are never neutral.

But isn’t it self-righteous and arrogant and absurd to decide that your impact is positive? Can you truly see the situation from all angles? Are you being honest in your observations and viewpoint? Absolutely not. How can a person be absolutely objective; isn’t true objectivity a concept that we may understand but cannot actually possess? It is one of these sci-fi terms that might be applicable to robots and aliens, but really hasn’t a place in the human brain.

I drive N crazy with my barrage of suggested options and solutions and ‘what-ifs’ and possibilities; they come forth no matter what the situation, as long as I have time to think. I always like to play the devils advocate, to try to see the situation from the other side, to weigh both (or all three or four) sides. It exhausts me, but I can’t stop…it’s who I am. My actions oftentimes prompt N into a decision-making role, otherwise nothing would ever be decided. I have always struggled with definitive and succinct answers: the world is constructed of shades of grey, rarely do you find black and white in nature, only in human-made places.

But how to decide on your impact? For although there is never a choice as to whether an impact will be made, a choice does exist as to the type of impact. We have the power within ourselves and within our actions to give our impact direction and definition. When you stop to think about it, it is truly a weighty responsibility. It can become all-consuming; it can burden you. Finding a balance between living a normal and average life, and being conscious and aware of your impact on the world and on others can be difficult to achieve. Because everywhere you look, there is another impact, emanating from you and spreading out into the world.

We happen to think that abstaining from guided tours and expected tourist protocol sends a positive message about respect and personal perspective, but doesn’t it also hurt people whose livelihood depends on their job as a tour guide? Haggling with shopkeepers for the correct price will perhaps help future foreigners avoid gouging, but does this action give a negative impression of Americans?

There are always two sides to the coin, and all we can do it try as best as is humanly possible to make decisions that are more positive than negative, while keeping in mind healthy global values of consideration, respect, graciousness, kindness, care, and honesty.