I have recently had two sets of clients cancel their plans to travel to Italy in the wake of the horrible terrorist incidents that have occured in Europe in the past weeks. I feel compelled to share my thoughts with you as I did with them.
I feel great sadness at any act of violence. Acts such as these are meant to strike fear; hence the origin of the word "terrorism". To counteract this sadness, my first inclination (as it has been to any adversity my entire life) is to get on a plane and go somewhere beautiful...to go somewhere to create calm in my life, to explore something new, to expand my horizons by meeting new people, to discover a new culture.
I find that people who do not travel, who do not bear witness to another culture (no matter where they go), are more afraid than those who do. People who do not travel, see the world as a smaller place. They don't realize how big the world is, and what a grain of sand each person is.
If the terrorists make us feel prisoners in our own homes, they have won. They have done their job of creating fear and anxiety. My job is more important than theirs. My job is to make people happy, to help them experience joy and wonder. My job is to share the world with people, not insulate them from it. I love my job, and I won't stop doing it because of them.