Lessons from a Vagabond

Permalink

SPRING

I believe everything happens for a reason. The last time I saw a peacock was when I left Olympos, Turkey after living and working there for 2 months in the Spring of 2011. By that time I had been traveling for 10 months from Los Angeles to Thailand to India to Turkey and I was getting ready to see what Germany had in store for me. I left the US with less than $500 in my pocket and arrived in Bangkok with less than $100. Money was no object. My life was being guided. No question. That visit from the Olympos peacock was a road sign signaling rebirth and renewal to come. The gratitude that sprung from me at that time was something I felt deep in my bones.

Last week marked 2 years since this sacred animal had made its appearance in my life and on the first day of Spring of this year, the signs we literally looking me right in the eye. At Palos Verdes, California’s Strawberry Lane peacocks roam freely among residential homes, yards, and gardens. I’m not sure why they are drawn there or why I was guided there but one thing is certain of this brightly feathered road sign: what comes next is going to be beautiful.

Special thanks to Wendy B.

Permalink
OPEN POST: Your Apocalypse is brought to you by… We’re alive! Just as many expected, the Mayan doomsday was a fallacy. Instead, people are seeing that the Mayans were not foreseeing a day of doom, but rather the destruction of the mental and emotional blocks we have manifested over time as mankind. So, I’d like to take a moment to remind everyone out there - everyone looking for paradise, everyone dreaming of another world, everyone looking for heaven, luxury, pristine beauty, and so on - I’d like to remind you all that it’s here! It may not be in your backyard, maybe it’s not down the street, or a short ride away, but it’s here on our gorgeous planet Earth, offering itself freely. We must nurture it. I know that not everyone has the ability to pay for some exorbitantly priced trip, and that every trip I take is a true luxury I am honored to experience. But if there is anything I’ve learned and tried my best to communicate with this blog, my photos, and my actions, it’s that you don’t have to be rich to experience the bounty this planet has to offer. So please, as we enter into a new phase in the history of mankind, I implore you - be one with our home planet, live large, be open, and love with pure hearts. I’ll close with this: “According to the Mayan calendar, December 21, 2012 marks the end of non-time and the beginning of time. It is the end of the Macha and the beginning of the Pacha. It is the end of selfishness and the beginning of brotherhood. It is the end of individualism and the beginning of collectivism, the end of hatred and the beginning of love. The end of lies and the beginning of truth. It is the end of sadness and the beginning of joy. It is the end of division and the beginning of unity.” Be well, ladies and vagabonds. With gratitude, TylerPhoto: Waterfall and rainbow in the Na Pali Coast, Kauai, Hawai’i

OPEN POST: Your Apocalypse is brought to you by…

We’re alive! Just as many expected, the Mayan doomsday was a fallacy. Instead, people are seeing that the Mayans were not foreseeing a day of doom, but rather the destruction of the mental and emotional blocks we have manifested over time as mankind. So, I’d like to take a moment to remind everyone out there - everyone looking for paradise, everyone dreaming of another world, everyone looking for heaven, luxury, pristine beauty, and so on - I’d like to remind you all that it’s here! It may not be in your backyard, maybe it’s not down the street, or a short ride away, but it’s here on our gorgeous planet Earth, offering itself freely. We must nurture it.

I know that not everyone has the ability to pay for some exorbitantly priced trip, and that every trip I take is a true luxury I am honored to experience. But if there is anything I’ve learned and tried my best to communicate with this blog, my photos, and my actions, it’s that you don’t have to be rich to experience the bounty this planet has to offer.

So please, as we enter into a new phase in the history of mankind, I implore you - be one with our home planet, live large, be open, and love with pure hearts.

I’ll close with this:

“According to the Mayan calendar, December 21, 2012 marks the end of non-time and the beginning of time. It is the end of the Macha and the beginning of the Pacha. It is the end of selfishness and the beginning of brotherhood. It is the end of individualism and the beginning of collectivism, the end of hatred and the beginning of love. The end of lies and the beginning of truth. It is the end of sadness and the beginning of joy. It is the end of division and the beginning of unity.”

Be well, ladies and vagabonds.

With gratitude,

Tyler

Photo: Waterfall and rainbow in the Na Pali Coast, Kauai, Hawai’i

Permalink
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 #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. 

Permalink
“All your educational systems and all your cultural beliefs, force you to be ambitious, to be somebody. But to be somebody means creating anxieties in a silent pool, ripples and waves. The greater the ambition, the more tidal is the wave of anxiety. You can become almost insane desiring. Trying to be somebody, you are trying the impossible, because basically you are nobody. Zen has an absolutely unique perception into the nothingness of everyone. It does not teach you any ambition, it does not teach you to be someone else. It simply wants you to know that in the deepest part of your being you are still nothing, you are still carrying the original purity which is not even contaminated by an idea of “I.”
— Osho  (via terramantra)

(Source: illuminatedbeing, via terramantra)

Permalink
“Life is simple. Everything happens for you, not to you. Everything happens at exactly the right moment, neither too soon nor too late. You don’t have to like it… it’s just easier if you do”
— Byron Katie (via heartmindspirit)

(Source: heartbloodspirit, via iadorelife-deactivated20120610)

Permalink

Dear America: Wake up!

Everyone keeps spreading fear about the economy, but corporate greed wont last for long. Capitalism is said to promote innovation and competition, yet ideas like the electric car, alternative energy, and legalizing marijuana are all being fought against so a select few can remain wealthy and in power.

People are getting pissed. This shit wont last for much longer, I guarantee it. With nothing else to lose, people are turning to their communities and passions and creating one revolution after another. Shit is percolatin’! Corporate greed - among other related obstacles - is keeping the US from innovating and growing. But the people are becoming conscious and we aren’t taking any more shit. 

End of transmission. 

Permalink
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. 

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. 

Permalink
“So many people live within unhappy circumstances and yet will not take the initiative to change their situation because they are conditioned to a life of security, conformity, and conservatism, all of which may appear to give one peace of mine, but in reality nothing is more damaging to the adventurous spirit within a man than a secure future.”
— Chris McCandless
Permalink
A MESSAGE TO THE WORLD People are revolting all over the world.  People are taking action.  People are breaking down barriers.  And nature Herself is in flux. If you haven’t already noticed, the world is undergoing a metamorphosis, but not everyone is an active participant. Not everyone sees this great shift for what it is.  That’s just the thing. We don’t realize our greatness! As human beings, we are the only creature on earth with free will. We use this to rationalize away our unhappiness, hypothesize away experience, and idle away our hours on material excess, negativity, and mind games. We allow others and other things to determine our worth. We don’t realize our greatness.  But many do. A collective voice in rising. Consciousnesses are expanding. People are waking, and they’re knocking at your door. Soon that knock will become a raucous you can’t ignore. And soon you’ll have to do something about it. You’ll have to wake up and take part in the world, as well. You’ll have to give up that which you once depended on. Money, status, what kind of car you drive, your 401k, investments, your plan B. Already we have seen that so many of these things are either destructive to life or fickle in strength. It’s this change people fear. Well, you can either fight with time and what it has to bring, or you can make time your teammate and flow.  Take stock of the things you do in your daily life that are destructive. We find so many ways to slowly kill our selves and dull our energy - what we put into our body, what we project off of our tongues. What if, instead, we all bettered ourselves on a daily basis? What if we all conserved our energy for good? What if we honored, as the last pure elements that exist in the world, the ground we walk on, the air we breathe, and the water that nourishes us? Those who don’t will undoubtedly wish they had. And so will their children, and their grandchildren, and so on.  There is so much beauty, so much joy, and so much love in the world. Take one step and it will be offered at your feet. Instead of clenching onto fear, what ifs, and I cants, I ask you to look around, look inward, and ask yourself: What if I woke up, too? Permalink - Comment here

A MESSAGE TO THE WORLD

People are revolting all over the world. 

People are taking action. 

People are breaking down barriers. 

And nature Herself is in flux. 

If you haven’t already noticed, the world is undergoing a metamorphosis, but not everyone is an active participant. Not everyone sees this great shift for what it is. 

That’s just the thing. We don’t realize our greatness! As human beings, we are the only creature on earth with free will. We use this to rationalize away our unhappiness, hypothesize away experience, and idle away our hours on material excess, negativity, and mind games. We allow others and other things to determine our worth. We don’t realize our greatness. 

But many do. A collective voice in rising. Consciousnesses are expanding. People are waking, and they’re knocking at your door. Soon that knock will become a raucous you can’t ignore. And soon you’ll have to do something about it. You’ll have to wake up and take part in the world, as well. You’ll have to give up that which you once depended on. Money, status, what kind of car you drive, your 401k, investments, your plan B. Already we have seen that so many of these things are either destructive to life or fickle in strength. It’s this change people fear. Well, you can either fight with time and what it has to bring, or you can make time your teammate and flow. 

Take stock of the things you do in your daily life that are destructive. We find so many ways to slowly kill our selves and dull our energy - what we put into our body, what we project off of our tongues. What if, instead, we all bettered ourselves on a daily basis? What if we all conserved our energy for good? What if we honored, as the last pure elements that exist in the world, the ground we walk on, the air we breathe, and the water that nourishes us? Those who don’t will undoubtedly wish they had. And so will their children, and their grandchildren, and so on. 

There is so much beauty, so much joy, and so much love in the world. Take one step and it will be offered at your feet. Instead of clenching onto fear, what ifs, and I cants, I ask you to look around, look inward, and ask yourself:

What if I woke up, too?



Permalink - Comment here

(Source: christopherbaker.net)

Permalink
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.  Permalink - Comment here

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. 



Permalink - Comment here

Permalink
“Watch your thoughts, for they become words.
Watch your words, for they become actions.
Watch your actions, for they become habits.
Watch your habits, for they become character.
Watch your character, for it becomes your destiny.”
— Unknown (via thesoundstheymake)

(via thesoundstheymake-deactivated20)

Permalink
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 Permalink - Comment here

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

Permalink - Comment here

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...