Experience

 

 

The world is full of so many amazing beautiful places. We are so fortunate in this day and age to be able to travel to any of them so quickly. I love culture and anthropology. I love getting to know people, studying architecture and art, food and the history of places.

There is a certain energy that you pick up on when you travel to a place that is steeped full of history. There is so much to soak in no matter where you go. I can’t wait to go on my trip overseas next year and experience international dishes. When I think about food and relate it to passion it makes me think of the Italians. It makes me think about people gathered around a table indulging in fine wine, laughing and sharing stories. I imagine a man sitting in the corner playing Spanish guitar (Yes a different culture I know but this is how my imagination tends to work). The best thing about travel, is the people and the stories they tell. The impact that they have on your lives. How you can meet someone on holiday and they make an everlasting impression on you astounds me. It’s quite magical really when I come to think about it.

I guess the impetus for writing this today is that I am trying to train my mind to think about my blessings not my problems. One of my greatest blessings in life right now is my opportunity to save and work towards this travel goal of mine that has been building up for a very long time now. It all started when I was a little girl and I got my first taste of international travel. My grandparents took me to Bali, one of the most spiritually connected places on earth, in my opinion.

I was only seven years old at the time and so I hadn’t quite developed my appreciation for foreign food. I spent most of the time eating Pringles. However, what I remember most fondly was the people. The kind spirit of the local people and the introduction to their culture. The dancing and the music was phenomenal. The other aspect that I love and admire about the Balinese is their dedication to their faith. Seeing them come rain or shine go out to their shrines and burn incense and place fruits and flowers as an offering to the gods. It was an amazing spectical to watch. They have such a peaceful air about them and a genuine care in their smiles.

 

The earth is filled with so much colour and vibrancy. It all comes down to what you choose to focus on. Yes we shouldn’t close our eyes to what is happening around us that is negative. We must find ways to find solutions to these things. However, we must train our dialogue both internally and externally to talk about our joys and to talk about the things that we are grateful for. “A lack mentality will create a lack reality.” I believe it was the great Albert Einstein who said that and it is so true. We can all fall into our own patterns where we find it so easy to complain or bitch. A certain someone in my personal life gave me some great advice the other evening. Sometimes the best advice can be hard to hear at the time. I was sitting in the car with him on Oriental Bay bawling my eyes out after quite a stressful day, I was tired and worn out and just generally fed up. The moon was due to be full a few days later also and I always go a bit crazy at this time. He sat next to me and said “you are better than this!” At first I felt offended and a little mad. Better than this? That’s not comforting. But then I took the time to consider what he meant and where he was coming from. I am better than feeding my mind with negative thoughts. I know how to focus on positives and I know how to turn a situation around. At that point in time I was not using my personal tools and I was choosing to wallow.

That is one of the most beautiful things about companionship. Sometimes you just need that person in your life to sit on a rooftop with (or in this case oriental bay) at 2am and just look at the night sky and think about how small you are in the grand scheme of things. It’s the practicing of mindfulness that makes this journey that much easier. We can be on such a coffee buzz that we forget to stop and think and to smell the roses. We forget to step back and look at everything from the bigger picture.  I am a big fan of people being exactly who they are. However, I am also a big fan of having that person next to you who can show you your potential. That’s what travel does to. It shows us that even though we have grown up in one environment, other environments have a lot to teach us too. A wise man in bali, a spiritual healer actually, told me last year that I live in my head too much. “You, why you thinking so much? Just you need to smile! Not worry. Not good for your heart!” It was like having a conversation with Rafiki from The Lion King (my favourite childhood movie).   Happiness begins with you internally, and is then influenced from what wisdom you can learn from what you experience. Go and grab as many experiences that you can. Have some bad experiences, because you learn the most from those. Most of all, remember to stop from time to time and reflect on where you are, how far you have come and what you do have.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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