Friday, April 13, 2012

The Gypsy Life

Usually I don't have the opportunity to watch television, yet alone cable. But this week I'm staying in an unusual place this week....a hotel!

When one travels all the time there are many places to stay. I usually find friends with couches. But there are gypsies who own motor homes or fifth wheels or gypsies who stay in tents or even in hostels or long stay motels. I prefer my method because it continually challenges me to adapt to new people and new personalities. It also provides the opportunities for new friends and new experiences.

Honestly, without my friends and their couches and their generosity I'd never be able to have this lifestyle (which is a luxury to me). Now I don't mean I'd be stuck in an apartment. On the contrary; should I not have friends I would be housing in a YMCA or someplace similar.

The schedule is so wonderful. I have been thinking about it recently. It's so nice to have spent a few months in one location but I'm so excited to be on the move again. To travel for a few days here, and a few days there and then a couple weeks somewhere else. With no idea where I'll be in a couple months. It leaves the exciting possibilities wide open and the adrenaline keeps me pressing onward. To learn new things, meet new people, taste new food, see new sights, etc. keeps me in love....not with anyone, but with LIFE!!

Saturday, April 7, 2012

To Free the Spirit

There are many things in life to stress us out and make us worry. They seem almost entirely created for the purpose, yet, wandering through life as I do, it seems these things really aren't the cause of stress but the opportunity of adventure and life.

When I say adventure, I'm not necessarily meaning you're a secret CIA agent that's being hunted, but more that you're scheduled life isn't quite so organized.

And by life, I don't mean the mundane one that happens every morning when you snooze the alarm and brush your teeth with your eyes closed.

I MEAN; If the hotel is booked then meet a new friend at the store and really meet them....couch surf. Don't always use the medium of money. Instead share knowledge and skills that make you unique to enrich their lives far more than money can or ever will. Take public transportation and introduce yourself to the person next to you. Share you story so they'll be willing to share theirs.

As you press your face up to the bubble of comfortable existence we all try to live behind it will feel scary and vulnerable. What if? What if? You'll back away and breath a sigh of relief as you burrow into your routine and organized schedule again, but life wasn't meant to be this way and you'll wonder again. What if? What if? And you'll tentatively press your face up against that bubble to see what's beyond.

We all hate change, right? We're supposed to, right? It's scary, right? Have you ever experienced the thrill of your heart pounding at the top of the roller coaster and the rush on the way down? Have you ever jumped out of an airplane? Ok, maybe you're not a thrill seeker. Have you ever tried to make dinner fudging the recipe a little and it turned out better than ever before and no one knew why? Have you ever had to give the company lecture and not had enough time to plan so just winged it and everyone loved it?

Our bodies respond positively to the stimulus of change and only when we train our brain to interpret signals negatively does our body change it's course. When we're kids we have all the desire for change and excitement in the world because our brains haven't been taught to fear it. As an adult change is almost frowned upon unless you're keeping up with the Jones'. There is a set pattern and style of life that is acceptable and everyone that doesn't choose one of the acceptable molds is an outsider. It's kind of like making cupcakes. You pour the batter into the molds and the spilled batter is wiped away; not usable anymore.

It's sad to me, really, that life has taken such a turn. That people see others in such lights and respond to stimuli in pre-rehearsed sequences. LIFE shouldn't be like that. LIFE should be open and available. It should be scary. It should make you stretch. It should make you reconsider. It should be memorable.

If you dare, pop the bubble.