I have always wanted to practice the art of a one ticket to someplace new. It gives you the chance to be fully committed to your heart, to your excitement. You can choose to keep moving, or stay put and be of service. You can get lost knowing that you are only finding yourself.
A few months ago Jake and I were playing darts with the world map. My dart landed on Indonesia, I didn't think much about it at the time. I was already formulating this master plan of moving to lake Tahoe, snowboarding everyday, waitressing every night and teaching yoga to rich people in between. Not a bad plan accept one thing was missing- true genuine excitement. I was witnessing myself following the expected route for an outdoor recreation bum. Please don't get me wrong, it's a gooooood life. I've lived it for a while now and I honestly love it. However, this time it felt different, I felt some other passions inside calling me. After a giggle-filled conversation with my dear friend Anna, who was already in route to Bali. I felt that unexplainable rise of bliss inside of me- I wanted to go too.
I know I mentioned no plan, but there is a little plan. Let's call them intentions though, knowing that the universe-god- or what have you always laughs at "plans". I'll document them here, formulate them into little wish balls and then throw them out into the ethers to see what returns. Here they are:
#1. I'm a healer, and it's not a phase. I have a gift of intuition, we all have it actually. However, mine seems to of grown so much over the past couple years that it's actually become physically painful to not explore and develop it more. I acknowledge my love for human communication and the healing arts and want to share this love with others. I'm still discovering what exact form of healing I wish to devote myself too. So far Yoga, Reiki, Community Organizing and Gardening are in the tool box but I want to introduce more. For example; Acupuncture, TCM, Herbal Medicine, Counseling or Life Coaching, Nutritional Health, Permaculture, Yes! Realistically I will probably only choose one or two of these pathways to dive into and add to my tool box. I have a crazy big plan of opening a Cooperative space/ Hostel for travelers, outdoor recreation bums, healers, teachers, musicians and more. I won't go into it much now, more to come though. Further education is on the horizon, so now is the time to wander and develop more concrete action items for my dreams.
#2. I'm a drummer and I'm a dancer. Countless signs and people have shown me these passions I contain. I want to dive into it some more. I'm requesting lots of drum circles and dance workshops and I'm shouting out for teachers to guide me in developing these skills. Balinese dance workshop? Yes, please.
#3. Evolve. Borneo, Indonesia is the oldest rainforest in the world, yet they are still discovering new species everyday there. Gigantic flowers and dragons! Oh my. If herbal medicine is a curiosity I have, then I guess going to the heart of plant evolution on this planet seems about right. Our rain forests need some serious love right now. I'll go scope out what's going on down there and give you a detailed report back. While I'm down there maybe I'll do some WWOOFing, get my hands dirty, learn more about growing things that heal things.
#4. Surf. How have I spent my whole life next to an ocean and yet I don't surf? Strange. That's going to have to change. I use to be afraid of sharks, but then my dear friend Alistair made me a cool "shark proof power bracelet". You pump your fist three times before entering the water and apparently it activates this forcefield around you so no sharks want to eat you. Cool, huh? I'm going to give it a try. Thanks buddy!
#5. More Yoga anyone? Bali and Thailand are littered with yoga retreat centers. They are most definitely going to need a gal like me to work off some more yoga teacher training hours. It's not in the budget to pay up front for such a training, but a one way ticket gives you all the time in the world to arrange a work trade for something like that.
#6. Take lots of pictures and write everyday. After spending a few months with no camera and neglecting my literary abilities I bought myself a new camera toy to take the itch away, and will be carrying along a special pouch of magical markers to document every dream, every moment, every fear and every gain. Lots of photos and blog posts to come!
Then of course there is the customary intentions of conscious travel:
Follow your heart, Listen to your gut, Leave behind something good, Be productive, Relax, Travel light, Love & Laugh, Go with the flow, Learn & Grow...
Flight leaves January 31st!
And to you, all good things.
