LESSONS FROM THE MOUNTAINS: CATALUNYA, SPAIN

How was Spain? 

Three simple words begging an inspirational response that motivates your listener to book a ticket and hop the next flight to Europe. 

I surrender and give what has now become my go to answer "It was amazing". Three simple words - this time begging for elaboration. 

Here's the catch, how do you elaborate on an intensely personally experience? The inquisition will never fully understand what you went through. 

What you saw. What you smelt. It was yours. And secretly you want to keep it that way. 

THAT is how I feel about my time in Spain. It's mine. And you can't have it. 

What you can have is this. 

Travel More. 

Get out of your little box. There is nothing better in the world than a journey into a culture completely foreign to your own. No better cure for an inflated ego or a dwindling spirit. No better remedy to awaken your sleeping muse, artist, creator, lover and inner wise woman. 

When you feel like you are being swallowed up by your day-to-day. Travel somewhere completely foreign. 

When you are squabbling with your partner over the same silly little gripe. Travel somewhere together or even better, apart.

Travel feeds the soul. It reminds you of all the beauty within you and re-opens your eyes to the beauty and possibility all around you. It opens the door and creates space for what really matters, ushering out all the bullies and critics from within. 

Amy and I, my soul sister, gracious host and savage gypsy, spent 10 days living together in a house built into the mountain side in Catalunya, Spain. That's right, a cave.There are not many ways to get closer to nature, than to literally penetrate it. Sleep in it. Sleep ON it. Sleep with it and literally feel its heart beating alongside your own. WIthout a soul for miles we danced our way through a week of meditation, yoga, silliness, culinary explorations and deep, subtle personal transformation. 

Nature is Mother Earth's greatest remedy. It is where we came from and it is where we will return when we die. I remember when Amy and her husband first moved to their cave home. I remember her saying she could feel the energy of gratitude pulsing through her veins. The tremble in her hands wasn't fear. It was deep appreciation for the experience she was embarking upon. 

People lament "how lucky she is" - but luck has no part in it. They made it happen. They worked hard. They saved. They planned. They sacrificed. They left family, friends, hairdryers and washing machines at home. They designed a life most of us say is impossible. Are they living THE dream? Absolutely not. They are living THEIR dream. 

Never stop moving forward, sideways and up. Never stop exploring and NEVER think you can't... because guess what, YOU CAN. 

The question is… will you?

After taking the past week to recalibrate and incorporate the energy of my trip into my life here in the city, I finally feel ready to share some of what surrounded me in the Mountains. Thank you to Amy for unleashing the wild within me and reminding me that beauty is EVERYWHERE. Amy is a ridiculously talented photographer. I am so lucky to be her muse from time to time, and her mine. 

Namaste