I have some exciting news that I’m thrilled to finally be sharing with you. I recently finished writing my travel memoirs—a collection of stories about my journeys on 5 continents around the world over the past 11 years! What It’s About The book is about my trips off the beaten path and in the moment,…
It was my first night in Panama City and I was tired after my flight from Ecuador earlier in the day. It was hot and humid outside, too, meaning that I easily could have stayed in my air-conditioned room and not gone out. Wine Run But my friend Michelle and I wanted some more wine…
When I took my recent trip to Ecuador and Panama, I went with my usual backpack of travel stuff (carefully packed and not too heavy) and some new high-tech equipment: my new camera—an Olympus XZ-1 (a high-end point and shoot)–and my iPad2 (plus an amazing Zaggmate keyboard and a WordPress app). I was all packed…
Ever find yourself on the verge of making a travel decision, minor or major, then hesitating?
Perhaps it’s right before you take a bus or a taxi in a foreign country (or at home). Or maybe when you’re considering whether to visit a certain town or not.
Or maybe it’s about the actual trip itself.
You want to go to a certain country and have been excited about it for a while. You’ve sort of figured out when/how and then, when it’s time to hit the ‘purchase ticket’ button, you find yourself hesitating.
The worst part is–you’re not sure why.
There are times when you have a clear-cut gut feeling and so, like most people, you would simply follow it. But there are times when you’re not sure if that is the case…perhaps you’ve been over-thinking it. And some of that (but not all of it) could be that the country’s international media profile isn’t too hot.
Case in point (for me right now): Indonesia.
If water stands motionless in a pool it grows stale and muddy, but when it moves and flows it becomes clear: so, too, man in his wanderings.
—Muhammed Asad, The Road to Mecca
If I were to sum up 2010 in one paragraph, I would say that it was a wild ride on a flowing river—with ups and downs but wonderful when I look at the big picture—and that my journey to the Middle East served as some sort of catalyst.
I could explain this further, but let’s just get into it now. Without further ado, here’s my list of the year’s highlights:
1. Sleeping in the Desert in Jordan
I was the guest of a Bedouin family in Wadi Rum, Jordan, and had the opportunity to sleep in the desert this summer. And despite concerns about insects and scorpions, I did it. And I only encountered 1 mosquito on one particular night.
“The only way to learn is through encounters.” —Martin Buber With blurry vision and a semi-paralyzed face, I sit in front of my computer, struggling to write, pausing every few minutes to rest. I fantasize about being somewhere else, someone else (non-disabled)….and in a completely different moment. But I know that’s not possible and that…
Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature’s peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their own freshness into you, and the storms their energy, while cares will drop off like autumn leaves.
—John Muir
The Zen of Autumn There’s a place I go, which is not thousands of miles away, where the past, present and future become a timeless sort of moment—where ‘nature reigns supreme’ and it’s easy to stop thinking and doing and to start…simply…being.
I’m not sure if the magic comes from what I see…the vibrant gold, orange and crimson colored leaves falling, like feathers, from the trees, to their new home: the earth and the nearby water, which feeds into a nearby river.
Or maybe it’s certain leaves, some still green, remaining on their branches as long as they can, waiting for their moment…to fall.
“Want to help me find my camels?”
I was in Jordan—one of several Middle Eastern countries I visited this past summer—traveling on my own and loving it, but facing a few challenges due to the fact that it was the end of high season. While it’s nice to visit places that aren’t overrun with tourists, the down side is that you’re not always able to jump in on other travelers’ tours or to share transportation costs. There just aren’t that many options.
But as luck would have it, things just sort of fell into place—as they often do when I’m traveling. I was on the verge of committing to an expensive couple of days (I was going to experience Wadi Rum no matter what) when something wonderful happened…
One of the Bedouin guides I’d been talking, a man named Atayak, decided to invite me as his guest.
“I’m finished working for the season and I’m now officially on vacation. I just need to get back out into the desert and find my camels that I left there. Want to join me?” he asked. I would only need to pay for food, he said. He’s a camel racer, by the way.
Nature is one of the best places to find yourself…at home or abroad. It’s peaceful and it’s beautiful.
And it’s definitely where I find it easiest to get in touch with myself, to relax and experience healing if that’s what I need.
When I created this unique photo, I thought about the various types of nature–earth…wind…fire…water…and sand–and what each represents to me and what I feel when I’m there.
Earth is is stabilizing solidity…
Wind is freeing movement…
Fire is contagious passion…
Water is flowing healing…
Sand is smooth awareness…
“Once we begin to see travel as an inner journey, it is possible to turn every trip we take into a spiritual practice—a hero’s adventure that enlivens our hearts and enlarges our souls. Travel becomes a spiritual experience for us when we are conscious at every moment that our physical transportation from place to place has a metaphysical counterpart. Understanding that, the road takes us inexorably to an encounter with the ‘stranger’ at the heart of the journey—the transformed self.”
—Joseph Dispenza, The Way of the Traveler
Sure, you’re hopping on a plane and flying several thousand miles away—or maybe just a couple hundred—and leaving home and your comfort zone. On the surface, it might seem like you’re going outside of yourself. And in some ways, you are.
But in reality, you’re taking an inner journey—one that takes you further into who you are.
Most of the trips I’ve taken have not merely supplemented, but actually served as some sort of spiritual practice. Sometimes heavy (if we’re talking San Pedro cactus in South America). Sometimes light (a goofy chicken bus ride with a busload of characters). And often, a just-right sort of blend of the light and the deep stuff…inner journeys where I put myself out there on the beaten path and get into the moment, the flow, and let the magic happen.
And it’s an incredible thing.
