2021 Update

Its hard to believe now that a little over two years ago I embarked on a journey of a lifetime. Even harder to believe that I have not visited a foreign country since that trip when in the past it was typical for me to go on at least one international trip a year.

There is one big excuse (COVID-19) but I do notice more and more people are traveling now – and they seem to be traveling safely. I have yet to take the plunge myself; I am still not comfortable doing so. Living in the USA I come from a place of privilege where vaccinations are widely available and I still feel like traveling internationally puts other countries unduly at risk. I have wavered a bit on this and had some false starts with trip planning but always found myself relieved when my travel plans fell through.

I miss traveling dearly and long to be wandering around streets where the sounds are all foreign or hiking in a land where all I hear are sounds of animals that I am unable to identify.

Who knows when I will be abroad again…..it may be a spur of the moment trip soon….well maybe not that soon since I am in the process of renewing my passport. But for now I am settled in my hometown. I am reconnecting with friends, family, and trying to regain my emotional center after major life changes the last few years.

For those of you fortunate enough to travel right now, enjoy and please be safe. Hopefully I can join you soon.

Bali Silent Retreat Final day

I actually hear the first gong this morning, my last morning. I have a weird dream about a kitten that was actually a baby tiger that ended up destroying my house …. not gonna read into that now.

After all the sweating for the past couple days I actually am a little chilly last night. But I’m not complaining because I love a little chill.

My arms are sore today – maybe it is maneuvering around rocks or yoga yesterday. I don’t plan on doing any yoga or meditation today since I am just preparing to leave. As I write this I hear Balinese music off in the distance.

As the sun comes up it doesn’t take me long to start sweating again. The sun is out and it is hot. I’m looking forward to drinking caffeine in air-conditioning.

Breakfast is amazing of course. I engorge since it might be a while until I am able to eat lunch. The sourdough bread is delicious as always as well as numerous vegetables and fruit things that I cannot recall the names of. The food is really worth the price. I only wish there was coffee.

I finish my book before I leave and return it to the library upstairs.

So what did I get out of all of this?

I don’t know.

I certainly don’t immediately feel any major healing but I do have some pretty good tools to take for when I return home (to use to heal on my own).

Also once home I really want to find every vegan restaurant and try all the dishes; but I think that I’ll be disappointed because quite frankly the food at this retreat is pretty awesome. I have never had anything quite like it.

Perhaps I need more time here. Hopefully I can return someday.

Now off to my surf retreat…..my ride should arrive soon…..

So much change

So much has changed in my life over the last year.
I don’t even know where to begin.
So much change, so much pain, and some joy.
Things have gotten to the point that I question what my purpose is anymore; I question what brings me joy.
I lost the last of my parents a couple months ago. My mother has passed away.
Again I was the one one to bury their parent, the burden of an only child.
I had to make all the decision; I had to adult.
I did it – I made the decisions, mourned mostly alone, and went through the motions of living life.
Just now months later the fog starts to clear and I am able to make decisions again with an amount of confidence.
While I lost my mom only a couple of months ago in physical form, the truth is that I have been in pain much longer. Many years in fact. She did not get to enjoy her life and it pained me to see her in that form. So I am very conflicted in feeling relief that she (and I) are no longer suffering but at the same time intensively sad for losing her.
What the future holds in store for me I do not know.
I do know that I would like to try to not make the same mistakes my parents did: My dad enjoying life too much to the detriment of his health and my mom not enjoying life enough to the detriment of her health.
There has to be a balance between work and joy. I need to determine that perfect balance for myself.
For work it means finding work that fulfills me but is not my sole purpose.
For joy it is exploring and finding those things that bring joy to me.
I would not be honoring my mom if I followed in her footsteps. It is obvious that the choices she made did not make her happy. All she has ever wanted is for me to be happy and cared for. I was her world for much of her life.
So I will do the things that make ME happy. It may appear at times to be selfish but that is the path I need to take to heal and to make sense of what I am left with in this world.
I envision some sort of Eat, Pray, Love experience in my future….minus the divorce and probably much shorter in scale.
Stay tuned.