"laestadian, apostolic, gay, lgbtq, ex-oalc, ex-llc, llc, oalc, bunner" LEARNING TO LIVE FREE: Do You Travel?

Saturday, February 22, 2014

Do You Travel?


When I graduated from college, I took my first trip to Europe with a borrowed backpack, a Rick Steves' guidebook, and a head full of poetry. That trip changed my life, and I returned with a very different view of myself, my country, the world, and my future.

Listening to Rick Steves in this interview, I wondered if people who love travel are unlikely to remain in Laestadianism. What about you?

What role has travel played in your life?

22 comments:

  1. Laestadianism does'nt prevent the people from traveling or even remaining gone for years, but when people get old they want to remain close to their fearmongering church. Why? As one such person said, when I am dying I want my room full of preachers to bless me with the forgiveness of sins...

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  2. Years before taking a trip to visit the Old Country of Finland, I Crossed the Border by deciding to go to college. I continued to live at home because I couldn't afford to go away to school. I lived a dual life for several years, weekdays with college friends, weekends with OAL friends.

    It's funny. Looking back, I don't remember feeling uncomfortable about it. On one pivotal evening during spring meetings, I looked around the church and realized I didn't belong there any more. So, it was my connection to the OAL that made me uncomfortable and not The World.

    My husband and I lived abroad for three years early in our marriage. It was exciting. I loved it. It changed my view of our country and our place in the world, and, by extension, it loosened my ties to the OAL. I saw the world in a new light and could never go back.

    The pain lasted for a good 25 years, but I think I am in a good place now.

    SISU

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    1. SISU, you are indeed in a good place! I wish I could love abroad for a few years. Maybe when the kids leave home.

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  3. I think there might be a correlation, but not always as strong as you might think. My aunt and uncle, for example, travel extensively but remain ensconced in LLC dogma ... and I think it might be because they view themselves as the "chosen" traveling amongst the "others". That is, they might think Ooh this is fascinating, look how this other half lives! (with a smidge of These Poor Souls), but never, "What do they believe, Why do they believe it, and How does it affect their lives."

    I'm like you, however, Free. I have an incurable case of Wanderlust, forever fascinated by the World and its origins, and it has greatly influenced my beliefs.

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    1. Yes, I suppose you're right, that some people are able to turn on the curiosity about some things and shut it off about others.

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    2. Compartmentalization is an unconscious psychological defense mechanism used to avoid cognitive dissonance, or the mental discomfort and anxiety caused by a person's having conflicting values, cognitions, emotions, beliefs, etc. within themselves.

      Compartmentalization allows these conflicting ideas to co-exist by inhibiting direct or explicit acknowledgement and interaction between separate compartmentalized self states. -Wikipedia

      I think this is used a lot within Laestadianism or with any restrictive beliefs or ideas. I know I compartmentalized religion when I 'still believed', and probably still do it to some degree in other areas of my life. Rather than try mesh my religion with other things like logic, physics, history, and other religions, I just never thought about them in the same context.

      Of course when I finally did take religion out of its' compartment it was very uncomfortable. But now it is relaxing to be able to entertain any idea in the world without being threatened or made uncomfortable by it. A thought I wrote down soon after I decided I no longer identified with organized religion: "Religion is a cage you cannot see until you escape from it."

      Plymouth

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  4. I like your quote, Plymouth.

    Here's a great quote from "Christianity After Religion (Diana Butler Bass) that I am currently reading:

    "So what happens when old forms of belonging disappear? When the old labels no longer express who we are? When family ties are broken......People lose a sense of themselves -- that is what happens. Instead of being grounded, people feel unmoored. And with that comes grief, often unnamed, but still experienced in a myriad of ways."

    This certainly defines me! Or at least the way I used to be, and, to some extent, still am on some level.

    SISU

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  5. The cages of the bars also give you something to cling to when you are anguished.

    I love to visit old cathedrals and attend services when I travel abroad. There is something comforting about worshiping in a church that is centuries old even if we do not share beliefs. Just the bonding of the human spirit (past and current) and sharing the rhythm of the service with others is enjoyable to me.
    Ijumped

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    1. I don't mean to be antagonistic, but I cannot reconcile your first sentence with the rest of what you wrote (which, I should mention, I like).

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  6. When you say religion is a cage, are you thinking Salvation is seperate?

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    1. I've parsed this sentence repeatedly, but I'm still not sure what you mean. Your use of the word "Salvation" suggests a Theistic (Christian) viewpoint, but I don't want to assume. Can you expand?



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  7. When we visit churches and cathedrals in Europe, I always light a candle. I LOVE this ritual and it has such an impact on me, surprisingly. Very meaningful.....I have not, however, attended a service in any of them, just sat quietly and listened to the silence. SISU

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  8. I'm curious. Here we see religion likened to a cage. In other threads, people have expressed how wonderful it is to be free of religion. Hmmmm....religion is nothing more than a shared set of beliefs. It has nothing to do with salvation and in many ways, even with faith. People do believe in different things and different interpretations, and that's fine. However isn't it arrogant to say that you are so unique, so perfect in your beliefs, so antisocial that you refuse to accept that even one other person shares your beliefs. If that's how you really feel, then why not just go buy yourself a square mile of land located at the end of a 20 mile long two track road, and stay there, comfortable in your own perfectness. Just think, you will reach consensus on every single thing and thus it will be easy to convince yourself how right you are and how wrong everyone else on the planet must be.

    Me? Well, I like religion. Of course I don't like all religions, but I do enjoy being with people who share a common bond and set of core beliefs and common tradition. Certainly there is -- and should be -- disagreement, but those are just the details to be discussed by discerning and curious minds.

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  9. Interesting, good video. We need to stand up together for what we know is right, and the way things are supposed to be. Not the way the government has been doing things.

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  10. Many years ago I took my girl friend on a trip with my 49 ford, we drove from Houghton to Pelkie. Then I thought maybe I should try and get a smooch or 2, but I was bashful and did,nt know how to get that thought accross, then I remember someone telling me just put your hand on her knee, that will give her a hint. Well I did that and she sorta cuddled a little closer, and said, you can go a little furthur then that Toivo. So I did. I drove all the way to Pelkie. What a trip that was.............

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  11. Hello to you all! I have been an irregular lurker on this site for awhile but this post brings me out of the shadows. I left the church over 25 years ago and travel was an enormous part of my unraveling. In high school, I went on a trip to Europe with my class and it solidified my intense desire to go away to college and study foreign language. I worked hard and saved the money so there was no way for my parents to stop me. That whole first year of college, I struggled between shame and joy, joy at pursuing my passion, and shame because I knew that if I were a “true” believer I would not want to do what I was doing. I remember spending Memorial Day services that first year trying to reconcile these issues as I prepared to spend the summer abroad. I spent the whole summer ducking and praying in terror every time a military plane flew overhead (this was Europe in the cold war) because I was sure a nuclear bomb would go off and I would be found off the straight and narrow with my little light turned off. I have very vivid memories of this roller coaster of emotion, delight at the exploration of the world and fear for my soul. My husband just shakes his head when I tell him this story. He was raised with no religion and simply cannot relate to this type of anxiety. We travel as often as we can and try to hard to open our children’s eyes to the wonder, beauty, and complexity of the world we live in.

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    1. I wish I had been raised with no religion. Growing up in a Laestadian church of any flavor is a lousy way to spend your childhood.

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  12. Das ist eine wunderbare Geschichte. Vielen Dank für heute. ;)

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  13. I wish I was raised without religion. You said a mouthful. It's almost impossible to erase false teaching. Jesus told only two people in the Bible that they had "great faith", one was a mother the other was a army commander,what did they have in common? They were both unchurched, but they both took Jesus at his word. And that's all that is required of us. But the Laestadian churches literaly kill faith by adding they're own requirements.

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  14. Didnt read everyones posts. But this is a snake oil sales job. I am an ex IALC person. I didnt make it far but from what I really remember is beware of the preacher on the corner. I believe Shakespeare said somethine like thou protest too much.

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