Coming home

Well, I'm home. Reflecting with a full heart. My trip didn't go according to plan. I didn't teach English in Italy or volunteer with kids (though through research, my opinions on that changed). I have no idea what my total number of countries visited is or how many stamps I added to my passport. I didn't see all the tourist sights or go to all "the best" places. And I don't care in the slightest, like I once did.

What I can tell you with confidence is that Anne was right, people REALLY are good at heart. And so was Disney, it IS a small world after all. And not as scary as we might think.

We are all miraculously here together and if you make time to chase the answers as to why it is sure to blow your mind and overflow your heart. We have more in common than different, and when we get to know each other, we realize just how precious humanity is. It's when we slow down, that the world and all it's magic and beauty comes to life. There is peace and love and pure joy all around and within us to delight and share, we just lose sight of it with "being busy." We makes lists and plans and create expectations for others or things or even big trips to make us happy, just setting ourselves up for anxiety or stress or disappointment. We get this sad, lonely feeling inside that we can't describe but feel like maybe we were made for so much more. And why? Because we are. We are loved immeasurably. We have the precious gift of life and what better way to say thank you than to enjoy it?

I've learned the power of genuine gratitude and that a sense of wonder can heal and inspire and expand the heart in ways unimaginable. That truth isn't to be described, but felt. That romance and adventure are one in the same. That age and responsibility shouldn't keep us from remembering we are loving, playful children. That to laugh is to live. And that I don't need to travel around the world to find inspiration and beauty, because it's been here waiting for me all along. It surrounds us always. We just have to change our perspective to see it. And in there lies the challenge, to continue to seek it out daily, no matter where we call home.

I can't begin to thank you enough for sharing in this trip with me. Thank you for encouraging me to chase this dream and supporting me to make it happen. It's because of so many of you this trip was even possible. You gave me the courage to try.

There is one word I did learn how to say (not spell) universally on my travels. Regardless of the language, it never seems like quite enough, but it's worth a try: Cheers, Treema Kasi, Cup-koon-ka, Come on, Ahcoon, donde-bot, Sue-krah, sow, tea-suga-dream, Curs-ah-num, Yak-we-um, Danke, grazie mile and finally... thanks.

A friend sent me this quote from Pico Iyer that sums it all up better than I ever could...

“Travel is like love, mostly because it’s a heightened state of awareness, in which we are mindful, receptive, undimmed by familiarity and ready to be transformed. That is why the best trips, like the best love affairs, never really end."