Carla DiBello On Mindful Travelling And The Value Of Diversity In A Post-Pandemic World
Entrepreneur and celebrity style insider Carla DiBello on global citizenship and how personal growth comes through travel
With the pandemic, we all found new ways to connect with the world that was out of our physical reach, but still around us. Even more than before, we were discovering and connecting from our own homes. We used technology in lieu of physical travel – Zoom, group chats, social media platforms, etc. Global news found a renewed mass interest. We recreated global recipes, listened to podcasts, downloaded audiobooks, and chatted with the far-flung family members with renewed dedication. It was as though staying home made us, in many ways, crave connection to the world outside even more. And while our loved ones often felt further away, on a grander level, we often felt closer than ever.
It’s an interesting phenomenon to reflect upon now that travel is opening back up. Global citizenship, the idea that first and foremost, we are citizens of the world, which so many of us practised from our homes over the last couple of years, now has the opportunity to be practised in the world. On top of our sense of belonging to our national identity, global citizenship considers how we as individuals, with our own unique values and diversity, fit into the multi-layered fabric of the world as a whole.
The concept of global citizenship also extends to the grasping of a general understanding of how the world works on all levels, from economically and politically to culture and technology, as well as environmentally. It’s a big-picture examination of global synergy. And it’s not a one-way conversation either, but rather an ongoing dialogue that requires both contribution and acknowledgement.
A more concentrated examination of how this concept plays out within a smaller ecosystem is the international team for both my company Arabia Plus and private consulting firm. Working with people from various nationalities and backgrounds has been one of the greatest strengths of my business, as we are able to take advantage of multiple forms of expertise, knowledge, and life experience that we would not have had access to otherwise. Diversity in business is a huge vantage point, and a global citizenship perspective can often offer the greatest leverage, as it provides a wider awareness of synergy and resources from every aspect.
And just as there are so many ways to do business, there are also so many different ways to travel. A good friend once said, “The problem with trying to escape your problems is that you bring yourself along with you.” I think the same can be applied to the way we travel. Sure, we can pack our own egos along for the trip and centre everything around our own experience, contrasting and comparing all-new experiences as ‘better’ or ‘worse.’ But is that really the purpose of new experiences? How can we reframe all experiences, despite our cultural differences, as equally fundamental to the collective one of being a human?
As we take to the skies, roads, or sea to satiate this growing wanderlust that has built up inside so many of us over the last two years, travelling more mindfully is a great start. Learning to adapt to our environments as we travel, and not force the environment to adapt to us, is a straightforward practice for incorporating a more synergistic, global citizenship perspective. It helps to continue to build our own skill sets and problem-solving skills, enhancing our lives and supporting ongoing personal growth.
And instead of framing another culture’s ways on a value scale of ‘greater’ or ‘less than,’ how can we instead open ourselves up to see them as equally integral, contributing to the collective experience on this earth? When we allow ourselves to widen the scope to a global perspective, we begin to identify and appreciate the full tonal spectrum between black and white.
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From Harper’s Bazaar Arabia’s May 2022 issue.