Expanded, enriched and grateful!

Since arriving home three days ago, I’ve taken several days to slowly unpack, rest, be still, hold onto the sense of ease and flow, and savor being reacquainted with my home.   I’ve have little effect of any jet lag in spite of nearly 30 hours of travel and a 13 hour time change.  One the flight home, I regularly closed my eyes, breathed into a quiet and still place inside, and reached down in my imagination to ground myself in each time zone.  I didn’t know where the time zones were so listened when the inner nudge invited me to do so.  Someone once told me that jet lag is separation of the Soul or spirit from the physical body.  Grounding keeps them together.  I continue this each day at home to stay connected and in balance with myself.

Periodically, I’ve felt a nudge to write one more post, a message of gratitude and thankfulness to all the people I met and who enriched my experience.  It’s now shortly after 3:00 am.  The nudge this time pushed me out of bed to grab my computer so here I am writing.

 

Yesterday morning, a young friend  whose family is from Cambodia was asking me some questions about my trip and marveled at what I was telling him.  He told me he wished had more courage to do something similar.  What I do, how I travel, doesn’t feel like courage.  The first trip was.  Then, it was about experience.  We are good at nothing we haven’t begun!  With experience, everything becomes  more comfortable.  It takes that first step though.  And remembering that travel is not normal life so leave normal expectations aside or choose to stay in all inclusive resorts.  Being present, developing awareness of the inner message always available to us, making choices based on a feeling of ease and flow rather than the constant and confusing and critical process of the intellect and something happens to the traveler.   I call it “magic”.  The right person shows up at just the right moment.  You think you have a plan, overhear a conversation, learn about a place you have never heard of, let go of your old plan and launch into a new experience, one you could have never anticipated before but touches your life in unimaginable and delightful ways.

And in travel that way, you change!  Mark Twain is often quotes for saying, “Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness.”  Travel especially alone forced me into growing a stronger relationship with myself.  At first, my mind was so active and concerned, it literally wore me out.  As I learned to be quiet, go internally, listen to my heart and Soul, the fatigue of making decisions and constantly tumbling them around in my head stopped. The joy of listening, feeling the path of ease, discovering magical places and experiences and people in the journey replaced the intellectual weariness.  I’m not the same person returning from a trip as the one who left.  I’m expanded, refreshed, revived, my perspective has shifted.  I’ve had to let go of control and be present with what is.  No denial!

“Trust is a verb!”  I heard Stephen Covey say that once.  It’s not a noun like money in your pocket that you either have or you don’t.  It’s a verb, something you do, something you are, something you use and extend.  Traveling without tour groups or itinerary, making up plans as I move along, none of this would work without trust.  Maybe trust is the key that opens up so many magical connections and opportunities?

I just saw this quote,  “A journey is like marriage. The certain way to be wrong is to think you control it.”  from John Steinbeck.  That

Home, I’m remembering all the ways travel has touched my life and inviting those same allies, to guide my life here.  I’m remembering I’m always guided and have assistance.  I’m reminded to stop intellectually analyzing everything and pay more intention to where the feeling of ease and flow is.  I’m reminded that my most important alignment tool here is energetic, not action, and to remain clear each day on what my intention is.  No wavering!  Decide, be clear, hold the space for the intention to unfold, live the life I imagine and celebrate the magic as it unfolds.

Home, reflecting back, I am so grateful for all the old friends I reconnected with, the new friends who showed up in my life, the experiences that showed up in front of me and the friends here who connected and joined in some way with my journey.  I check email now and have messages from around the world.  I’ve met new friends from the Czech Republic, Switzerland, Holland, Canada, New Caledonia, Laos, Vietnam, Bali, and many more places.  I connected with people from Columbia, Peru, Chile and Brazil, England, Ireland and France,  Italy, Iran,  Israel,  Switzerland,  Sweden and Finland, Australia and New Caledonia and the Philippines.  And I even met new friends from the USA.  My travel family has grown, my inner world has expanded, and I’m so grateful for the ways each person touched and enriched my life.

Thank you all for touching my life!

I wish you all a great life, life full of blessings and magic and a life filled with peace!

Namaste!