Life is a Canvas.

"Life is a great big canvas, and you should throw all the paint you can on it."

- Danny Kaye

Urban Watercolor World Map by Michael Tompsett

Travel, Share & Inspire.

"Teach people what you have seen on your journey; maybe one day they will travel too." 

I loved this quote written by a fellow American traveler that I discovered on a wall in some foreign country. Yeah Dave!! I especially love meeting other US citizens traveling; it gets me excited as I believe not enough of us get out there and explore beyond the borders of our home country. One of the reasons I started this blog was in hopes of inspiring others to travel. I hope all the energy I've put into these posts has encouraged some of you to travel as well. So get out there - Travel, Share & Inspire. 

Build Community. Share. Spread Love. Speak from the Heart.

The World is Your Mirror.

This post is a follow on to my blog post about Ashram life. Please bear with me as I am not the most eloquent writer.

The world Ashram is defined as a place for religious retreat or community life. The piece that I loved the most about being in an Ashram was the sense of community that was present. Unfortunately we live in a time of isolation, fear of what and who we don’t know, where the sense community has been lost. We tend to put up barriers to ‘strangers’, our own internal defenses, and even physical fences & walls. Proof to this statement is the sad fact that even after living in the same flat in San Francisco for 3 years I don’t know my neighbors. I travel the world solo without fear, but I can’t even knock on my neighbor’s door. We live in the same building for goodness sake. Why do I have this fear in my own community? How come this fear is driving us? Here’s something that Amma had to say about the current time we are living in that resonated with me:

“We are currently living in the Kali Yuga (the dark age of materialism guided by our ego). Dharma is at an all-time low. We are surrounded on all sides by war, violence, disease, hostility, famine, overpopulation and environmental destruction. Amma says repeatedly, “The world is caught in the grip of an octopus of fear.” People are becoming more and more isolated from themselves and each other. The balance of nature is greatly disturbed. The seasons rarely come on time. There are droughts, floods, storms, earthquakes and tsunamis causing great destruction.There was a time when humans and nature co-existed in perfect harmony. Now, our ignorance and our separation from our true Self and from nature have greatly disturbed that balance.”

I know that all sounds very negative and scary, but it’s reality. The beautiful part about our reality is that we have the ability to bring the balance back. Reconnect with ourselves, with nature and those around us. Live our lives out of love rather than fear. Smile more often at stranger, say hello, look them in the eyes, what’s the worst that could happen? Just being seen can make the world of a difference to somebody.

One of my favorite documentaries that my flatmate,  Julia, showed me is called Happy. It taps right into the importance of community and how having a sense of community is what brings true happiness. Not travel, money, cars or experiences, but the people around you who you build a community with. Those you can lean on. That’s one of the reasons I believe religion is popular, it truly brings people together. That’s a whole another discussion. Anyway where I am trying to go with this is my decision to make my community a priority. I vow to be a better neighbor and member of my SF community.

Spend the 60 minutes to watch this beautiful film. Happy has stuck with me and I think it will with you too.

There’s another beautiful thing I noticed at a couple of the Ashrams. The pure genuine love that can radiate from one’s smile and gaze. There were two individuals in particular that come to mind and I can’t seem to get there smile out of my head. I want that connection to my heart that they have, where they can spread love so easily and without fear. I don’t even know how to smile the way they do. It’s such a pure honest expression with no walls up. Just from one smile they can pierce straight to your heart and remind you its okay to be exactly who you are. Relax and let your guard down.

One of the reasons I think I can’t stop thinking about it is because it made me realize how much love I hold back. They smile at you and I can only hold their gaze for a couple seconds before I look away. Anybody else felt this as well? It makes me realize how important it is to share love. Share love with those close to you and let them know how much they mean to you. There is a quote from Shantaram that I love:

“I know now that when the loving, honest moment comes it should be seized, and spoken, because it may never come again. And unvoiced, unmoving, unlived in the things we declare from heart to heart, those true and real feelings wither and crumble in the remembering hand that tries too late to reach for them.”

When your heart wants to speak, seize the opportunity. Let that other person know your true feelings.

I was discussing all of this with my new friend, Myriam, and she brought to my attention the 3 different types of love.

Eros is known as "erotic love". It is based on strong feelings toward another. It usually occurs in a romantic relationship.

Philos is the second type of love. Its a unique kind of love, like the love that one has for a friend, to love like a brother or like a sister. When we have Philos love for someone we have placed that friend in a high personal position.

Agape is unconditional universal love. Agape love is above Philos and Eros love. It is a love that is totally selfless, where a person gives out love to another person even if this act does not benefit her/him in any way. Whether the love is returned or not, the person continues to love (even without any self-benefit).

We were specifically talking about Agape love. How when somebody can shine so bright with their smile that you feel love come through. There are moments when you want to tell somebody that you love them and truly care about them, but if you said “I love you” it would freak them out. When in reality this is Agape or Philos love you’re trying to express. Or even when you smile at a random person on the street, sometimes they will smile back or may look at you a bit sideways. Agape love is wonderful and it would be beautiful to see more of this love in the world. Smile more often, let your love and light shine out! (even if you freak a few people out along the way).

Life is beautiful. Be Present. Be Curious. Challenge Yourself. Leap.

Surprises, expectations & lessons learned at 3am

My present as I arrived in Aurangabad

Warning this is a text heavy post, but you never know what gems of knowledge you might find in my writings. By the way I am writing this all at 3am. The malaria pills or something are screwing with me. I've woken up after 4 hours of sleep every night so far. I feel you insomniacs & writers. I literally knew it would not be possible to return to sleep without ridding my mind of these thoughts for my blog. So here they are....

India is full of surprises. My single bed overnight a/c bus with toilet reservation had a couple up its sleeve. The moment I walked on board to find my bed there is one. My single bed is now a shared bed with a very sweet mother & daughter. I attempt to attest explaining I booked a single bed where a man is now snoring, but give in quickly & end up truly enjoying the company of my bed mates. Bah a/c, funny. A simple fan would have provided more relief from the heat. But hey it's India it's kinda expected.With toilet turns out to be outside the bus. I don't think I've gone through the night without needing a toilet so I out I go to squat on the side of a highway. I relieve myself, hold up. I need to be fully honest here, i partially relieve myself. I definitely had to go #2 but there was no way I was ready to join the I've pooped on the sidewalk club. So thank you strong young bowels. I jump back on the bus and return to snuggle with my 3 year old sweet bed mate.

Now some of you might be a bit unnerved because we are all so used to our western amenities. I believe its better to embrace whats thrown your way. I came here to experience Indian life and learn more about its culture. The opportunities have been everywhere and I'm stepping into them with a smiling face.

Overall my biggest surprise of all is the warmth & completely unexpected generosity of the people. Much of this is to thank because of couch surfers! I've had people open up there homes, share meals with me, pick me up from the airport, run me around to do errands, come retrieve me from my home or greet me at the bus station when it's 30 min out of their way, spend the whole day showing me their city, graciously paying for rickshaws, train tickets, delicious food. All of this without a flinch of an eye, without any expectations of receiving anything in return but the hopes to make me happy.

What a humble and giving culture. To put this into perspective, I'd hoped a friend would offer me a ride to the airport, but that was an example of being single and having expectations bites you in the ass. When no offers came in, I went through a list of friends with cars or who could drive my manual car to find a 20 min ride to the airport in SF. Most were all occupied on that Saturday night and declined, yet all accepted the evening before for a night of drinking. Want to know how many offers to greet me and pick me up in Mumbai I had? At least 10, from complete strangers that are new friends. When friends I've known for years are too busy to send me off to the airport. Don't get me wrong I love my friends dearly and I know they love me too. I'm no
one to complain as I know my friends have been on the same end of it from me. I just thought it was a clear teaching around how sadly my culture has created "busy" selfish people where a small kind gesture to a loved one is a big thing loaded with expectations of receiving something in return. And wow was it smacked in my face the moment I stepped off the plane in India. The lessons traveling will teach you.

All my friends out there, please don't be offended. And  of course I am grateful Hillery for giving me a ride & Sarah for letting us borrow your car. Thank you thank you my fish tacos. With my new lesson, now you all have me to count on for rides to the airport :) & of course so much more!

My intentions here were not to bitch but to share a travelers perspective. I honestly at the moment would have just antied up and paid for a $50 cab without being irritated or upset. It really all just dawned on me now.

Being there my last moments in the US when I'm about to embark on a scary & exciting solo journey is more impactful on our friendship. Make sense? For example I'll  never forget my good friend Corine sending out meeting invites to send me off and pick me up for my 5
month trip last year. Or Sarah Holm you making a point to drive 2 hours to spend qt time together, help me pack & run last minute errands. Sarah Saul you're going to be my savior when you bring me a batch of new clothes to Croatia, gracias in advance. Beth, Coco, Chris & Ham for reaching out to grab dinner & catch up, although we need to do it more often rather than when I'm peacing out. And Julia for your sappy sweet secret message declaring your love for me on my GoPro. This Italian woman literally loves food & declared she loved me more
than many of her very favorites including pizza & meatballs. Ok I could go on and on, but I'll spare you.

I know I can be blunt at times so understand this writing was all from the heart. If you took the time to read this, I love you. I'm grateful for your presence in my life and since I know I don't say it enough, one more time - YOU ARE LOVED!

Sending lots of x's and o's from India!
Your bri bri

Sealing the day with the Sunset

On Lake Nicaragua with Ometepe in the background

This post was inspired by the sunset above that I saw last night.

Pause. Reflect. Enjoy.
The funny thing is I was irritated to find out right before I hopped on this 15 hr ferry that there is actually a 5 hr bus for half the price I could have taken. When in actuality I needed to slow down and let the journey go on as it was meant to be and be grateful for this stunning sunset that I would have missed if I had taken the bus.

One of my favorite moments during the day is sunset. If I could I would vow to take 20 min of my day to watch the beauty of the sun fall. Luckily on this trip I've been able to more times than not. Not sure how im going to work that back into my corporate life when I
return :( here are many happy reflective moments I want to share:

Lake Tahoe

San Juanilla Costa Rica - Flying for the first time with Kristin!

San Juanillo, Costa Rica - CRYS March Teacher Training <3 and miss you all

Lake Atitlan, Guatemala

Right near my house in SF - Sunset & Croquet, great day!

Outside of Seattle, WA

Playa Carillo, Costa Rica

San Francisco, CA - near Sutro Baths with Julia Marino

Big Island Hawaii

We were in bliss watching the sunset on the Big Island - with my mother and stepfather Marv :)

What's the most beautiful sunset you've experienced?

The first memory that came to my mind was this sunset at the sutro baths near ocean beach in SF:

Ocean Beach, San Francisco

 This was before I lived in SF and was shared with Lauren Mallery, David and Changiz. It was a quick but memorable akpsuli reunion. Thank you lmal for bringing me to one of my favorite sunset spots ever!

Me, Changiz, Lauren & David

Look up. Look down. Look around.

Eye-opener:
Borders, mas borders
The Mission is crisscrossed by myriad borders,
Invisible and overt: porous and dangerous.
The border between South and North America
Old and New San Francisco
The border between Valencia and Mission
Between the documented and undocumented
Between bohemia and neglect
Between club life and church life
Between bookstores and gun shops
The border between high and low art
High and low religion
High and low desire
Stop!
The murals command
Look in the corners, look beyond the obvious.
Look up.
Look down. Look around.
-Guillermo Gómez-Peña


Although this is from a book about Murals in San Francisco's mission district, I really loved it. Maybe because it reminded me of home :) I think it's a good reminder to really appreciate the details all around you. Ms. Julia Marino should have a copy in her hot little hands of Street Art San Francisco: Mission Muralismo by Annice Jacoby and Carlos Santana. Enjoy!


Art in Indonesia.
While in Java and throughout Indonesia we have came across Indonesian Batik art form. It's quite wonderful. Below are two photographs of our experience with Batik. The first is when one of the artist's was explaining all about the Batik art form - very fascinating; all natural dye, wax or coconut oil are used. The second are a few pieces in the gallery, I was suckered into purchasing two pieces. Honestly I couldn't take my eyes off the paintings of the local woman, so colorful and beautiful. Luckily easy to pack too!