….NOTHING ADVENTURED, NOTHING GAINED

Nothing borrowed, nothing gained. When we travel, we do not own the experience, it is merely a lease of time spent in the company of excitement and inspiration. So often I have flown to a country with a direction in mind only to find myself in one of two places:

The first is not where I am supposed to be. Trying to force the forces of nature to forge a journey in my favour only finds you at the bottom of a well without a pail – thirsty, hungry, & frustrated.

However, the second, & my favourite, is like riding the wind. Why does the wind blow north, or south, on any given day? Allowing your journey to flow like a river, around mountains & across lands, I’ve found, is the most beautiful and soul-resonating way to travel abroad. Why? Because the river is in perfect harmony with its surroundings & always has its eye on the sea.

So how does that work for us?

Change your “sea”.

Don’t be a tourist – be a native.

Those places you need to be today, tomorrow, by four p.m. – scrap it. Ditch the watch. Go there, but go like the breeze. Float; for floating is as transcendental & as close as we’ll come to flying during our time on this beautiful planet. Float like a butterfly – like a bubble full of breath; & with your eyes wide and your hands high let the universe guide you to the “sea”. Say hello to people, to creatures, to the whispering leaves. Spend time thinking, feeling, doing something you never thought you’d do. See a brighter yellow or lighter blue than you’ve ever seen before. Allow the world to conjure wonderment… “What kind of flower is that?”

Notice the unnoticed. Like the quiet kid in the corner who grows up & invents Google. Be the person that sees something for the first time. Imagine, being the first person to ever see the rain or, better yet, being the first person that saw the glow of the light that followed…

There are “firsts” still to be discovered because we all experience life in different ways. I’ve always wondered if my green is your green? Or is your green my blue? If that is the case your world would look a lot different to mine, & that is mind blowing – that we all might be experiencing our own little piece of the puzzle of time is poetry in motion. Existence at its most natural & beautiful, & certainly most affirming.

We do not own experience, only that we offer ourselves to the effects of the adventure. What we decide to do with it afterward, however, is ours… & ours to do with it whatever we please.