KEEP TRAVELING!

Last night in the nail salon my nail lady was shocked that I was going out of town, again.  She said "WOW you just got back and now you are going somewhere else!"  I said, "UMM YEAH!"  I did have a weekend at home in between to rest.  :)

My whole adult life I've come to love traveling.  And SO many people are surprised at how much I travel.  This really baffles me!  Do they not want to travel?  Why don't they?  I know time and money are issues.  We all have different spending habits and financial responsibilities. I get it.  But I think back to when I was in college waiting tables, I found my way to Vegas and Miami multiple times for spring break and random vacations.  I was able to save up the $300-$500 it cost for the flight and hotel and made it work, even if I was eating McDonald's while I was out there! 

I have the wanderlust.  Every new place I find finds a new place within me.  As I discover corners of the world I discover new corners within myself.  It makes me yearn for more.  To see more.  Because it makes me FEEL more.  I want to see how others live and learn about other cultures and their perspective on the world.  I believe having that perspective humbles you and gives you appreciation, which instills kindness and peace within you.  We all need more of that! 

I'll leave you with a few of my favorite travel quotes...


"The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page."
-St. Augustine 

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”
-Mark Twain

“Once you have traveled, the voyage never ends, but is played out over and over again in the quietest chambers. The mind can never break off from the journey.”
-Pay Conroy

“Not all those who wander are lost.”
-J.R.R. Tolkien


Off to the beach I go for the weekend.  Where are you traveling to next?

 

IN love

"We can love our pets. You need to be IN love with the guy you want to spend the rest of your life with." 

That was a quote from The Bachelor last night, and it really hit home for me. My last relationship: I was in love with him, and he just loved me. There is a big difference.  If someone tells you they love you, but they can turn around and walk away from you. That essentially means that they care for you deeply, and can willingly walk out of your life. I wish you the best!  LOL. That's not being IN love with someone. I've never heard someone compare the love of a pet to the love of a significant other. And this one sums it up very well. 

Don't love me like you love your dog or your cat. That's not the kind of love I'm looking for. :)

Nature

When is the last time you've fully engulfed yourself in nature?  I mean really engulfed yourself. Like laying out in the woods staring at the trees and the sky?  I had this awesome opportunity recently after a big snow storm.  To hear the wind whip through the sides of the mountains, pushing the trees back and forth was so grounding.  Feeling the power of what is around you really helps put things in perspective. 

Constantly surrounded by cement and buildings I couldn't tell you the last time I've actually felt dirt!  So sad!  I love these moments when I get back in touch with nature.  I want to do it more often.  :)

Thoughts.

As close as you are far
As close to you like the double lid on a mason jar

Your eyes tell me you'll never leave
Yet the distance at times proves you have much more to see
You're morphing into the beautiful butterfly you were meant to be
Slowly to flap away from my heart as if you touched down to rest your wings

How far are you into your bloom I wonder

I fear you may go too soon
But I cannot help but embrace
How it feels to love you is such an amazing place

Please prove me wrong

Our roots are undeniable
Beautiful roots
Connected in past lives
Yet to understand our fruits

I want to keep you
I love you
I want you
I need you
But as good as it feels from my place
I can't wait to feel the same reciprocated embrace

I'm not afraid to stand alone in love
I just wish I didn't have to

Frequencies.

"...but for me this remote house, this island, was the best place to be. It's a place to break off the antennas on top of buildings, to break away from those frequencies, to break away from everybody's hustle and negativity. A place to reconnect with your own strength. I advise everyone to find an island in this life. Find a place where this culture can't take energy from you, sap your will and originality. Since anything physical can be mental, that island can be your home. Turn off the electromagnetic waves being forced upon you, the countless invisible forces coming at you all the time."

-RZA, The Tao of Wu

The TAO of WU. The Rza.

I started a new book today, "The Tao of Wu" by The Rza. I am on page 6 and my mind is already blown. I wanted to share a awesome excerpt I just read.

"We are all Wu-Tang. You are Wu-Tang. If you ever stood on a mountain or by an ocean and felt a deep connection, a vast infinite presence inside you, you felt it: what Taoists call Oneness, Muslims call Allah, others called God. That's what I felt on Wu-Tang Mountain, but it's also what I fell in Staten Island and even Dumont Avenue in Brooklyn – only dimmer, quieter.  Allah's truth is within us all, all the time – a seed waiting for light to help it grow. Wisdom is the light."

Lite Headed - Disconnected & Loving It

Have you ever had those days where you feel light headed, but not in a bad way?  I sometimes wonder if on these days am I close to accessing other planes, other ways of seeing, thinking and feeling?!

It's so interesting.  On these days when I'm walking around I feel as if I'm floating.  My thoughts are no longer on the ground, they are in the sky.  I feel so happy, disconnected to all the trivial stresses of life.  Should I meditate on these days?  Am I almost THERE?  It's as if I am walking around smiling with clouds in my head.

The feeling is almost indescribable, so beautiful that it's almost scary!  Maybe I am about to pass out?  Did I drink too much wine last night?  ;)

What this tells me is we should always be mindful to what we are FEELING.  Take EVERY opportunity you can to open your mind, your thoughts and heart.  You could discover something amazing!

 

Europe's Cool Metro Stations

I'm sure many of my fellow backpackers have travelled through some of these metro stations! Do you agree these are the coolest, or most impressive?

I absolutely loved the art on the walls at the Lisbon metro stations. There were quite a few stations I got lost in, and some that were very simple and easy. Ahhhhh, what an experience.

If you haven’t backpacked, alone, in a foreign country, you are truly missing out an important part of self discovery and survival skills. :)

http://www.cnn.com/2014/02/04/travel/europes-best-metro-stations/index.html?hpt=tr_c2

 

Chinese Dance

I recently had the opportunity to check out a dance performance by Shen Yun - a traditional Chinese dance company based out of NYC.  It had been over a year since I've seen a dance performance.  I was excited and eager of what was about to happen before my eyes.  The energy of live dance is indescribable.  The flexibility and precision professional dancers have is mind blowing.  To me, dancing = freedom.  There are endless moves, infinite ways to express the body.  

I am infatuated with Asia.  There are so many countries and islands that encompass many different histories, traditions and beliefs that are a lot of times far fetched for us Americans.  The poise that most Asian cultures carry about themselves is admirable.  To have two of my most favorite and admired things combine before my eyes really made my soul happy.

What have you done to make your soul happy lately?

Another interesting perspective here - did you know that in China Shen Yun is not allowed to practice dance?  The Chinese government is actively preventing, the show that is offering a look into the 5,000-year-old culture, to be staged in China, because since 1949, since communism arrived in china, expression of traditional Chinese culture have been actively suppressed. 

http://www.shenyunperformingarts.org/spirituality/challenges-we-face