A non-financial European Trust Fund

Over the last nine months we travelled outside Europe. And now we’re back; cycling ‘our home continent’. To us, cycling is just another way of slow travel; except for downhill of course. Which means we have all the time in the world to get reacquainted with our fellow-Europeans. Which we should. These are interesting times, as Europe - which has developed rapidly over the last 20 years - is suffering from the Euro Crisis. This financial crisis is stressing Europe out.  And - most of all - it seems to stress our differences instead of our Europeanisms. Greek, Italians, Germans, French, Dutch, Norwegian: same same but different. These months I hope to get a good sense of how European Europeans really are. And - not in the least - I hope to experience how European I am myself. Feel free to question me later.

What’s happening? This week we were watching the Euro 2012 Soccer Championships. The Netherlands was playing Denmark, Germany and Portugal. Or should I say the Netherlands was being played? Anyway, we lost, which is not my point. My point is we were in a bar with two British, two Germans, two Dutch and some more French. And we were having a good time really. Nobody mentioned Greek losses, the crisis hitting Africa, cash injections in Spanish banks, Europe possibly being the biggest risk for our global economy. Nobody questioned our common labour market. I couldn’t sense a hint of negativity. On the other hand; nobody mentioned the EU either.

But think about it for a minute. Europeans have a lot in common, in spite of all our differences. Contrary to for example the United States, Europeans share a common history and common culture. Like Brittany in France for example - home to the bar I just mentioned - which is in so many historical ways like Great Britain. And, especially after being away from Europe for nine months, a short visit to any of our old medieval cities is enough to sense loads of common heritage and culture.

I think in general Europe is very much about freedom and creativity, and hopefully understanding. Nevertheless we face a reality in which a lot of nationalism is going on. Witnessing this response to crisis, I would question whether the crisis actually is financial. Most countries get much more excitement out of their national interests. Is it just plain and simple ‘what’s in it for me?’ thinking or something else? Politics are renationalizing. Right and left wing parties gain popularity because of their anti-Europeanism. A generation issue maybe? Maybe we forgot about the purpose of Europe or made it too complicated?

I think it might be a lot simpler. Do people still trust governments? Not really. And how about the latest cyber-generation? Who do you trust if you can see into all the information? The media present us proof of non-trustworthy people in power every day. We just don’t trust people in power like we used to, regardless whether they’re in politics or finance. This Euro Crisis really isn’t about money; it’s about a general lack of trust. In a free, democratic and creative society like Europe, lack of trust can soon bounce of the wall. What do most people do if they don’t trust someone or some organization? Most of us get out of the way; right or wrong.

Who can solve these trust issues for us? Politicians? Nope, even if they mean well, they are part of the problem. Banks? Part of the problem too. Rating agencies? Part of the problem. In all fairness, the only ones that resolve trust - not having to worry about things - are Europeans them selves: ordinary people like you and me. So why don’t we? Start our own 'Trust Fund'? Not financially speaking of course; that won't do. But what then do we do? Go work abroad. Hire people from other European countries because of their skills and added value. Work together. Get to know different nationalities. Get married abroad. Travel. But most of all, don’t get out of the way if you feel you don’t trust that other someone. Postpone your judgement; check before you act. You will find - at most events - it’s just a little cultural or personal mix-up. Come on, be a little less afraid. Fortune favours the bold for good reason, unafraid as they are. If ordinary Europeans like you and me try to be a little bolder - more curious, more inquisitive, more self-aware - our Trust Fund might give us new Europeanisms in return.

Back to what Europeans already have in common: their history, culture, arts and - not to forget - their being tired of politics and banks. Wow, we’ve got something going on here. The question is whether we can find a balance between nationalism and our Europeanisms. What do you think? If politics, power and money won’t manage, our Trust Fund just might. We’ll have to remember this when Germany plays Greece in the Quarter Finals of Euro 2012 tomorrow.

Slow-cycling Europe

Why travel? It's sinking in

Before we left on our sabbatical year, we asked our selves ‘why travel?’ It may seem like an obvious choice, but was it? Obviously there are many ways to spend time well. So why travel? Well, for instance to feel free. To create different situations. To slow down time and get taken in. Maybe even get taken in to a degree to which we can - again - fall in love with life or rediscover youthful enthusiasm. To slow down long enough to lose and find. To open our eyes and hearts to this changing world, hoping to get a better understanding. To dream. To remember what’s important to us. And - not to forget - to come home again.

This last week, the intensity of our travels so far suddenly started to sink in. So many things happened, some of which were on our list. We’ve just arrived in the last quarter of our year. For these upcoming months we’ve decided to - again - change our perspective. Before we were travelling around South America and Asia; experiencing countries and places unknown to us. Now we started cycling Europe; which is near home and - for many parts and in many ways - well known. We’ve decided to finish near home - without coming home just yet - taking time to travel with fewer impulses, hopefully allowing us to think and plan ahead. Travelling was - is - very much about being in the here and now. Planning and thinking ahead don’t really match travelling. But now - after one week of cycling - we find our selves looking back and forth.

As our perspectives change, different things happen. I got lost for no reason whatsoever; simply not paying attention. The second time I couldn’t remember where we parked; never happened before. The past nine months we were very much in the now; a mixed state of relaxation and constant alertness. Back ‘home’ in Europe we completely let go of that alertness. Sometimes we feel much more like tourists and way less like travellers. Plus, we’re no longer leaving assumptions at home, which suits travelling. These days, we’re actually putting our assumptions on the table; discussing them for planning purposes. Very different yet again very exciting times. Time in which the intensity of the last nine months has truckloads of room to sink in.

Have you ever wondered what makes travelling so intense? Why is it like that? How is it different? I feel it has a lot to do with ‘being moved’ (I’m not talking about transportation). Highest and lowest moments arrive easily when travelling - elevated or unbalanced - in comparison to relative standstill. Travelling often moves, but rarely because of what is written in the travel guide. To me it’s about what we experience, think and feel at the same time. It’s the little things, in the little places, or in the people we meet. It’s in the stories that don’t come up immediately after you come home.
Travelling is also intense because it takes something like receptivity. Alain de Botton wrote about this in his ‘Art of Travel’. It’s almost impossible to enjoy travelling when having rigid ideas. It takes flexibility and openness to move from the familiar to the unfamiliar. That state of mind - opening up, leaving comfort-zones - can be stressful and tiring. But it also enhances flexibility, it certainly kills prejudice, and it seems to make things lighter. Nevertheless some places we visited turned our complete belief system upside down and back up again. That calls for receptivity and is what you might call intense. To put it simple and mildly, I think travelling just might be one of the most direct ways to keep our mind mobile and awake.

It’s also about exposure to difference. The sort of exposure that opens up and makes people more creative and innovative. As I’m now looking forward to my - upcoming - professional life, I realize this is a big issue for companies, governments and professionals. How to be creative and innovative? How to open up to positive change? People, careers, organizations - or even civilizations - move forward through creativity and innovativeness. Comparable to travelling - to them - it is evenly important to be receptive. To be exposed to different stories and ideas, other ways of approaching issues and unknown sources of inspiration. To me, this is what an increasingly international work force can offer. This - receptivity and exposure - is why interculturality holds so much value. It’s what travelling gave us.

Evening out the intensity and all we got out of our travels, we’re happy to travel relatively known grounds for a little while. Nothing wrong with a little less impulse and intensity for now. Time to let it sink in and to take some small steps in between. Time to turn ideas into plans and plans into reality. A reality I'd want to be moving, mobile and awake.

Let it sink in for a little while - www.coachcultures.org