Direction

Sometimes my mind runs a thousand miles an hour, in different directions. I constantly feel like I'm searching for something. But what? Why do I have this untapped urge to explore?  What am I supposed to find?  What is supposed to find me?

Sweet Dream

I had the sweetest dream last night about one of my brothers.  What was strange about it was I was my current age I am now, but he was a child, say around 5 or so.  What made the dream even more interesting is I KNEW I was my current age and I KNEW it was odd he was only 5 - but I embraced this moment with all my heart. 

To give a little background, I use to terrorize my little brothers.  I never thought I gave them that hard of a time.  But as a big sister, I definitely took advantage of my status and superiority until they got bigger than me.  hehe.  Fast forward to today, this particular brother now lives in another state, is engaged and has a one year old.  I've never felt more distant with him than I do now.  :(

So this dream - its like I was looking at him in amazement, in his innocent little eyes, his little child size body.  He really looked the same as I remember him at that age.  I wanted to embrace him, hug him, and send him SO much love.  Is it because I miss him today?  Or was I trying to send him love from back in the day when I all sent his way were teasing jokes and terrors?  In one part of the dream we were at our family lake house.  He was in his little child size life vest and I was hugging him and spinning him in circles.  In another part of the dream we were at our grandparents log cabin and he was playing in the back bedroom.  I remember just starting at him, thinking how sweet, caring and innocent he looked.  And all I wanted to do was smile at him and squeeze him to show him how much I loved him. 

This dream made me completely happy though and filled me with love.  In the shower this morning I couldn't help but smile and wonder if he felt any of this too?  I shot him a text just to see if he happened to dream about me too last night.  He said he doesn't think so or he doesn't remember.  Oh well, it was such a sweet story to tell and it made my heart smile. 
 

Volunteer! Thailand!

This summer I will be volunteering with elephants in Thailand!  Please help fund my trip here!  Details about my trip can also be found here:    https://www.fundmytravel.com/Elizabeth-Duty-1389392135/campaigns/Elephant-Conservation-Project-1389497848/view  

Below you will find some information on Thailand, elephants and my project! 


I first went to Thailand in April 2012. I had the opportunity to visit an elephant sanctuary and was blown away by my immediate new found love towards these gentle giants. I got the chance to ride an elephant through the forest, and feed and pet them. When I got back home to the states I had a new found pull not only toward elephants, but Asian cultures and Buddhism. The relationships and history between elephants and the Asian population is so interesting. There's a mystery about these big creatures, so much depth behind their eyes. Their size and grace mesmerize me and I truly feel elephants are one of a kind. With the vast drop in their population and becoming an endangered species I truly want to devote my time in learning as much as I can about these creatures to sustain their existence.

According to estimates by the World Wildlife Fund, there are only between 2,000 and 3,000 wild elephants remaining in Thailand, and this number continues to decline. Much of this trend can be attributed to the competition for land between local communities and the elephants, while domesticated elephants continue to roam throughout Thailand with their mahouts and are seen begging for food by performing tricks for tourists.

Throughout Thai history, elephants have been used to assist in the construction of temples and to help clear forests and carry timber. In ancient Thailand, the kings of Siam used elephants to ride into battle and the more elephants a king had (especially white elephants) then the more status and power he enjoyed. Elephants occupied a very prominent role in battles. Almost all the famous Thai kings in history were great warriors on elephant-back. King Ramkhamhaeng, King Naresuan and King Narai were the most outstanding examples. Murals depicting battles on elephant-back still exist in several places today.

This volunteer placement will give me the opportunity to immerse myself in Thai culture, learning about the role of elephants as I help the mahouts in the elephant camp that provides a sanctuary for retired working elephants. My work may include a combination of exercising, washing and feeding the elephants, garden maintenance and working directly with the people of the centre.

Sometimes you do not know what you are missing until you find it. And I have discovered a new passion, a new love with elephants. Here are some amazing facts about elephants. I want you to truly get to know how amazing these creatures are! I hope you come to love these creatures as much as I do.

1.     Elephants are amongst the world's most intelligent species. They have been noted for their memory and pleasant nature.

2.     Elephants exhibit a wide variety of behaviors, including those associated with grief, learning, all mothering, mimicry, play, altruism, use of tools, compassion, cooperation, self-awareness, memory, and language.

3.     The elephant mirrors the life patterns of a human more closely than any other living thing. Its life span is approximately 80 years and its growth rate similar to that of humans.

4.     Asian elephants have the greatest volume of cerebral cortex available for cognitive processing of all existing land animals.

5.     Elephant families can only be separated by death or capture. Because elephants are so closely knit and highly matriarchal, a family can be devastated by the death of another (especially a matriarch), and some groups never recover their organization.

6.     Elephants are the only species of mammals other than Homo sapiens and Neanderthals known to have or have had any recognizable ritual around death. They show a keen interest in the bones of their own kind (even unrelated elephants that have died long ago). They are often seen gently investigating the bones with their trunks and feet while remaining very quiet. Sometimes elephants that are completely unrelated to the deceased still visit their graves. When an elephant is hurt, other elephants (even if they are unrelated) aid them.

Is Tourism Destroying The World?

WOAH! What a strong title, right?! That's exactly what I thought when I read that! WOW hold on a second!

This article has an interesting perspective. "A new documentary suggests tourism is out of control in parts of the world, irreversibly damaging the environment and indigenous cultures."

I think they do have a point. But how would we ever learn about other cultures, people, places on earth without traveling there? Modernization can be stopped, right? There are parts of the world that still live like their native ancestors, still embracing their tribal roots. I'm sure they could have welcomed change, electricity, cars, etc., but they have not. But some cultures HAVE accepted tourism because that brings money and "a better way of life" to those people and areas. They have accepted tourism and everything that comes with it, right? Maybe they didn’t realize what all came with it?

 What do you think about this?

http://www.cnn.com/2014/01/02/travel/gringo-trails-documentary/index.html?hpt=tr_c2

All that Lady....or not

This lyric has always resonated with me.  

"Who knew we'd grow into, whatever we into
That's too much for your mental" 

They say everything is about timing.  Boy is it.  The older I get the more I see this being true.  So until two souls can find each other on the same page...

"..so we snapback that 
Game on point like the stripes on my Gucc backpack"

Yoga and the New Year!

This morning was my first hot yoga class in over three weeks!  I could not wait to lay down in the warm room, but was slightly nervous as this morning's class is, in my opinion, the toughest one!  Regardless, I was there, ready or not, and wanting it to kick my butt. 
 
Boy oh boy did it!  My toes were stretching, my right knee was pinching, my shoulders were enjoying the full rotations of the sun salutations. 
Ahhhhhhhhhh breathe. 
 

I took away some important things from today's class and I wanted to share: 

1. I fall in love with yoga over and over again in each class.  You will always learn something new about yourself on your mat!
2. Stretching your toes feels AMAZING!  Get in downward dog and stretch those toes!
3. Yoga makes you fully aware of your strengths and weaknesses, almost at the same time.  Today especially I was made fully aware of my shortcomings, but in the same (or next) moment I felt incredibly strong.  With it being the new year, BALANCE, was my lesson of the day. 
4. Yoga is not only practice of the body, but also of the mind and spirit.  It is truly YOUR practice.  You can put in and get out of yoga whatever you want. 

Today's findings, especially with it being around the new year, gave me an interesting perspective.  Life is about BALANCE.  Sure hours or days of pure bliss are amazing, and hours or days of complete sadness completely suck.  But you cant appreciate the sun without the rain.  We will have our "pinched" times and we will have our "strong" times.  But the key is to persevere.  Eventually everything balances itself out. 

How willing are you to not only discover, but also improve.  Think about it.    Namaste!  :)