HOW TO JUST BE: A Cheat Sheet
For those of you who feel you cant (yet) travel the world to figure this one out, here’s a handy illustrated guide by Yumi Sakugawa.
The end.
(via lazyyogi)
(Source: livewithnoregrets00, via lazyyogi)
LESSON #128: Check your messages
For the past couple months since I’ve been back in the US, I have been delighting in the fact that I feel good! True, I was looking forward to being back home, but I wasn’t 100% sure I was ready to stop traveling - and the truth is, I’m not. Not by any means. But whereas I felt a disconnect between my self and my city before I began my epic world tour, now that I’m back it just feels right.
I believe in messages. When I first got back, a hummingbird came to my window for 3 days straight. In stillness it sat, perched on a branch - a rarity in and of itself. The symbolism of the presence of a hummingbird, is that of beauty, calm, and peace. It’s humbling presence told me I was where I was meant to be.
Last week a praying mantis came to my door (above). Upon research I found this:
An appearance from the mantis is a message to be still, go within, meditate, get quite and reach a place of calm. It may also be a sign for you to be more mindful of the choices you are making and confirm that these choices are congruent.
I have been doing just that and every day I wake up more renewed and more grateful for the present moment, no longer caught up in the future of wishing for the past.
Everything and everyone has meaning. Be mindful. The signs are there. Some hum, some pray, you can’t fit them all into your wallet, you may not be able to hold them close, but that doesn’t make them any less valuable. It just makes them more valuable than you are yet to know.
LESSON #127: Free yourself from “plans”
I‘ve been back in the US now for a couple months - I think. I don’t know. I still haven’t quite caught up with “American time.” I knew the transition would be jarring, but what I didn’t anticipate was that other people in my circles would be going through transitions of their own.
It seems that people of all kinds are breaking free from previous plans. A relationship, a job, school, whatever - we are living in a time when people are no longer willing to “put up” with anything anymore. People are getting tired of settling for the things that make them unhappy or disatisfied.
Some see this phenomena and greet it with fear. “The economy is going to collapse”, “Your credit will be ruined, “But what about this or that, him or her…” No. That’s fear and it’s gross how normalized it has become in this country.
It’s nice to see that people are taking a stand and, in the words of Joseph Campbell, getting rid of the lives they’ve planned in favor of the lives waiting for them.
MEXICO IN B&W, part 2: Getting there
The saying goes that it’s always about the journey, not the destination. But as we amble on, absorbing the bounty of beauty this world offers us, there must also be moments that stop time. Whether you find yourself looking out a bus window, around a crowded bus station, or down at your own weary feet, you’ll indeed find that your destination may have already been found.
More than the tequila, Salsa, y sabor, one might argue that it is the quite moments that defined our journey…and that define Mexico.
Next up: The Pyramids of Monte Alban
Check out the Mexico Photo Gallery
LESSON #126: Get to Oaxaca, Mexico
- Salsa dancing
- Midnight slackline
- Skinny dipping
- Sweetest air
- Lushest greens
- Food to make your taste buds dance
- …not a bad way to live.
Oaxaca: you suit me.
(Source: fromthegills.wordpress.com)
LESSON #128: Don’t worry, be happy
A lot has been going through my head lately. I know. It’s gross. As one friend said, “In a culture dominated by left-hemisphere thinking, living in the moment takes a great amount of focus.” It’s like as soon as I get back I’m actually encouraged to start worrying. In my opinion - and I think I have a pretty good perspective on this - American culture thrives on fear. An appreciate for freedom would not exist without it. We Americans pride ourselves on freedom but sometimes don’t even see that it’s negative counterpart is dancing right along with us. I was traveling the world for almost a year with no insurance, sometimes no job, and no secured way home and I worried less than I have in the past 3 weeks being back in the US. Simply put, I felt more freedom abroad than I do “in the land of the free.” (I realize that, in part, it is because I’m American that I was able to take advantage of the world the way I did, but that’s another post.)
My return stateside hasnt been entirely dominated by anxiety, however. Its been great to see my friends and family and relax in the odd familiarity of this city. But I have come to realize that there have been a number of themes reinforcing themselves throughout my life, sticking around through all the growing pains and transitions. These themes all point my compass outward. I think some of my readers can relate.
My purpose is to be happy and to bring happiness to others. It’s what I’m good at. It’s what we’re all good at, and I believe we’d all be more apt to take advantage of this gift if we’d just give ourselves the chance to break away from all the worry, anxiety, and fear that dominates American culture and media. “Am I good enough?” “Will I make enough money?” “Am I worthy?” All these expectations we impose on ourselves - they aren’t without reason - but they aren’t enough for me.
What I need no longer requires any questioning or imposition. The answer’s been within me all along. Time to listen up. Again.
GOING HOME LESSON #125: Your tribe awaits, good sir.
I’m tired of hearing people say, “Well life’s hard”, “that’s just the way it is”, and “that’s what being an adult is” - No. That’s what being an adult is for you. Life has been hard for you and that’s the way it is for you. People want to believe that because they didn’t get exactly what they wanted out of life, that dissatisfaction and even unhappiness is somehow normal. Well I’m not normal. I am destined for a different path. I genuinely believe that. Not because I’m living in the clouds or have a superiority complex, but because life has shown me so. (Skip over to my About page to see for yourself.)
In my travels I have been brought into so many peoples’ lives - people who demonstrate that being an adult doesn’t have to mean “dealing” with life or just surviving it; people who thrive no matter what their circumstances are. I believe I am one of those people. They are my people. Tribe: found.
Yes, I have faced a fair set of challenges on this journey - ie, broken bones, broken wallets (jump to min 4:05), stranded abroad with no way home, you know. All that stuff. But I have not faced these challenges alone. Just because I haven’t accomplished my goals independently doesn’t mean they somehow lack value. On the contrary. They are exponentially more valuable because I have a community, love and support all around me. That’s not a bad thing, people. And guess what: it makes life a whole lot easier, more fun, and fulfilling.
In the US, there is a can-do spirit, but veiled within is an every-man-for-himself mentality. A mentality that leaves too many of our fellow human beings out cold. Alone. Unhappy. Happiness is the point of life. What are you doing to ourselves?
Going back to the US, I know that I am going to be confronted with many ideas of what I “should” do and inquiries into what’s next. What is next? I don’t know. No one knows. I’m just going to continue living the way I have been: I’m going to thrive.
GERMANY LESSON #124: The Hippy Fantastic vibe
My life abroad - the dirty-haired, sun-drenched, wrinkle-shirted existence that it is - is far preferable over the meticulously gelled, pressed, and posed alternative.
Maybe it’s my abrupt return to Europe, maybe it’s just all these growth patterns over the past 10 months of travel, but I’ve come to realize that we have too many options in how we portray ourselves. Capitalist consumer “culture” confuses the core. We’re more than what we buy, goddamit!
Fashion’s fun and all, but invite it in for tea, don’t kiss it’s fucking feet. At least I won’t.
Photo from the Life in Turkey photo gallery
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GOING HOME LESSON #123: For a nomad, home is everywhere.
I’ve always had this issue with “home”. I’ve been homeless, couch-hopped, laid in the lap of luxury, and still this question: What is home?
- Home is a boat in Turkey
- Home is a beach in Koh Wai
- Home is climbing waterfalls in Chiang Mai
- Home is the gardens of the Taj Mahal
- Home is the sprawling fields of Regensburg, where I am today.
It’s time to stop questioning. Life could be worse.
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View more Thailand photos here
GOING HOME LESSON #122: Fitting in is for pussies
Things I’ll be taking back with me…
- Spend as much time outdoors as possible
- Avoid smart phones and ring tones
- Embrace vitamins, eating well, and meditation
- Avoid TV, massive grocery stores, gyms, and malls… and the mirror.
- Play with kids and animals
- Don’t analyze, accept.
- Make every day an experience
- Appreciate the simple life
- Live your life like its golden. Because it is.
- Know there is no such thing as “the end”
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GOING HOME LESSON #121: Friends are like gold
Just days before I started this journey, I sat down with a couple of friends and had a conversation (video here). It was golden.
Community is one of the most important and underrated aspects of life, especially in the West. Especially in the US, in my experience. It seems to be every man for himself. When my apartment burnt down my community shone stronger than I could have known. Mere acquaintances became life-savers, counselors, shoulders to cry on, and homes to count on. After I lost my home, my community breathed life into me. And it’s continued in my travels, reaffirming its importance in my life. For this I will be forever grateful, even to the point of tears.
This being my experience, going back home - the States, the US, whatever you wanna call it - I’m going to take a look at my community and appreciate it for what it is, not what it can be. I am going to be still be in a state of need, of independent dependence. But love has always served me well. So I think I’ll just let that guide me.
…and, as much as possible, act completely stupid. Preferably on a beach. :)
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(Source: picturesandquotes.net, via louistshakoane)
