My other passion (not about health or fitness... maybe mental health;)

(Listened to constantly on my ipod while out there)


Ah- I dont know what it is- but Im missing Thailand so much right now.  After my run this AM I found myself looking at various sites and comparing airline prices.  This is what gets me in trouble.  The main thing I absolutely adore about my job is travel.  I love it and Im truly passionate about it.  Every chance I get I pick through travel books, various journalist' autobiographies and language books- just so when I get to that country Ill know something about it.  But, I need to focus!  Im about to start school- I cant just be jetting off...

And by 'that country'  I mean whatever country Im reading about- because I will find a way to get there.  I am a girl possessed.  Ever since I was little Ive had a serious obsession with Central Africa- A region so beautiful and yet so torn in conflict (like the Democratic Republic of Congo) that it would be just stupid and self indulgent to go without a reason- and if I did go it would have to be through an aid group....  Maybe Ill have to focus on somewhere more accessable like Kenya or Ghana. 

When I was lucky enough to find myself o that continent I didnt have the time to take full advantage and do my usual country jumping ( aside from being too young at the time.. when I was in Japan I made it a point to go to mainland China), when I was in SE Asia I went to Cambodia and Vietnam- that type of country hopping.  I figure its cheaper to go buy a plane or train ticket from there than to try and get there from back home.

But still- I woke up this am and literally EVERYTHING reminded me of my trip to Thailand... I really miss it. Its so weird- I was there for over a month and a half and I was never sick of it- and never got that 'ready to go home' feeling. I did get that in Italy (I usually do, at some point), I love it so much and all that- but after two weeks Im done- Im ready to be home.

To be honest, my happiest moments are when I travel.  The times I feel most awake and alive- If I could make it a job I would.  As Joseph Campbell once so wisely said "Follow Your Bliss".   Travel is the best and most amazing education you could possibly ever hope for.  Total immersion. 

I just got back home a few weeks ago- but I already feel that itch to go again....

Also, when you do follow your bliss- everything else just seems to come together.  When I was travelling- it really felt like everything just came together- it just flowed.  I got to guest teach yoga classes- I met, by chance, one of my favorite muay thai guys, if I was stuck or in trouble the right people always came along.  When youre doing what you love- there isnt that issue of 'emotional eating' or self destructive behavior.  You WANT to take care of your health and your body- and if this seems selfish- it really isnt.  Try looking at it another way-  Every one around you benefits from your happiness and passion- friends, family, strangers.  If you end up starting a business because of it- then even more people benefit- youre creating wealth and therefore enriching other people- either by your product or services, the employment opportunities or even just your example
"Now, I came to this idea of bliss because in Sanskrit, which is the great spiritual language of the world, there are three terms that represent the brink, the jumping-off place to the ocean of transcendence: sat-chit-ananda. The word "Sat" means being. "Chit" means consciousness. "Ananda" means bliss or rapture. I thought, "I don't know whether my consciousness is proper consciousness or not; I don't know whether what I know of my being is my proper being or not; but I do know where my rapture is. So let me hang on to rapture, and that will bring me both my consciousness and my being."