Travelling Mindfully

Travelling Mindfully

Navigating mindfully through the bad days

“We often hold this notion that when we move house, change our job or the car that magically things will shift, that life will somehow transform into the land of our dreams.”

 

Sat in the wilds of Transylvania, we have a moment of stillness to reflect on what has been a challenging couple of weeks and make sense of all the events that have unfolded.  It’s been a bit odd really as it feels a bit like having a favourite sandwich; some fabulous experiences in the middle of some personally and financially stretching events. The unexpected storm tonight seems to match with my mood, as my mind races erratically like a tempestuous teenager, reviewing the series of challenges we have had to deal with. It causes me to reflect on my own learning and the dualities of a nomadic life and our travel choices.

The magic of change

“It is such a romantic notion to run away into the sunset and travel aimlessly, being guided by the wind, your intuition or the warmth of the sun.”

We often hold this ideal that when we move house, change our job or the car that magically things will shift; that life will somehow transform into the land of our dreams.  And it is true, that for a time, it will certainly feel different, may-be even better. It could last a week, a month or a few years.  Although the reality is that there is no complete escape – because life still vibrates around us, the clocks still chime and the earth still revolves.

The same happens when we decide to travel.  Whether we choose backpacking around the world, an exciting sponsored-trip to the jungle or embark on a 3 month tour of Europe in a camper, we don’t escape life, we simply change the parameters within which we choose to live.

It is such a romantic notion to run away into the sunset and travel aimlessly, being guided by the wind, your intuition or the warmth of the sun. And it is a privileged and wonderful life, there’s no doubting that.  How amazing is it to swap the routine of the Home, Work, Shops triangle for the sound of wolves in the mountain depths of Bulgaria or the crashing waves of the azure Grecian seas?  I certainly wouldn’t swap.

Yet whilst we may find the courage to change our lives beyond recognition and, to use that cliché, ‘live the dream’ there is another perspective that must be packed into the suitcase of our new life choices – called the shadow.

As there is day, there too must be night, where the sun shines, the rain too must fall.  The shadow exists as part of the duality of life and is not intended as a gloomy insight, just an aspect of life that, with awareness can keep us rooted into the reality of this beautiful, challenging and crazy world. Knowing the shadow exists can maintain our nomadic sanity

Amidst the joy of waking up in a new land with evocative smells of the local street food or the prospect of walking to the local bakery for your morning’s croissant, we need to be mindful of the shadow’s role in throwing challenges, problems and crises our way.  I’m not suggesting that we keep this as such a strong focus that it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy, although if we can just ‘keep our heads, when all around us are loosing theirs..’ to quote Kipling, then surely our travelling experiences will be all the richer.

The problem with shadow’s presence on our travels is that it can cause us to get lost in fear, stress and anxiety, none of which are healthy places at any time, least of all whilst we are away from home.  So what if we could apply some techniques for navigating these difficulties more smoothly, which would allow us to return to the business of seeking adventures?

Tips for Travelling Mindfully and navigating the bad days

There are so many things we can do to prevent the travellers’ droop and the risk of our dreams crashing to the floor.  Here are my mindful insights, based on our recent stretching experiences:

  1. Acceptance.  Let’s face it, bad days will happen from time to time.  We could well have something stolen, a laptop damaged by a freak storm, an uncomfortable interaction, an accident that damages our vehicle or break pads that need changing in a country of a strangers. And of course Banks still need to be dealt with, Insurance firms want us to jump through hoops when making a claim and compliance to the System’s rules keep a loose thread around us.  Health issues are bound to crop up and stuff back home still needs our loving support and encouragement. Accepting that things will happen out of the blue will help you navigate this journey with more ease.
  2. Awareness.  What defines us and our happy lifestyle is how we handle what comes up.  Our typical response to a crisis is to move into a flight or fight reaction, where primal behaviours kick in and we go into high alert. This protects us to some degree although may have us acting in a way that is not natural on a day to day basis. Instead, as our martial arts friend recently quoted ‘Be prepared not paranoid’.  Know what action you will take in the event of a crisis, such as someone breaking into your space.  Have a plan about how you will go about dealing with a stolen wallet. Know the emergency numbers of the country you’re visiting and always make sure your phone is charged.  Be aware and alert without being paranoid – this pairing can carry you through a crisis or challenge with dexterity and calmness.
  3. Breathe.  In the midst of the vortex we go into a instinctive mode where our body reacts chemically to protect us from harm.  In this high alert state we forget to breathe, which can instantly calm us and reduce our racing heart-rate. In stress or an event that triggers anger, sadness or disappointment, remember to breathe as it will reduce the alertness we are experiencing and creates a more rational space for us to operate in.
  4. Be mindful.  Travel and mindfulness is an art and skills we need to acquire. I’ve found travel to be my greatest teacher in the last 18 months and I continue to stay grounded in the experiences, both good and bad so that I can grow.  Keep coming back to the here and now.  It’s all too easy for our primitive, reptilian brain to scatter fear, uncertainty and doubt around our feet so that a forest of anxiety springs up, suffocating our dreams. Be attentive to how you feel, sit with whatever comes up and give it space to breathe.  Don’t feed it, just be aware of it and it too will pass.
  5. Rational thinking.  We often believe that our thinking is the root of all evil and it certainly rules the roost much of the time especially when they come from our unconscious mind or reptilian brain.  Instead when we mindfully bring our thoughts back into our conscious mind in the pre-frontal cortex, then we can rationalise what is going on and challenge our irrational thoughts. Take a step back, assess the bigger picture, see all sides and decide on appropriate action. This will hold you in the reality of the situation rather than the nightmare action movie you have just directed in your head.
  6. Be grateful for all you have, all you experience and all that goes well.  It’s so easy when there is a run of bad luck or challenges sent to try us, to get into a victim mentality. It is from this space that our thoughts of ‘home’ may return and we start to wonder if we should continue.  Gratitude is key to us being in the moment and appreciating all we have, thanks to our life choices.  Whilst ‘going back’ may be the right thing to do, listen to your heart and not your head, especially whilst it feels in crisis mode. Make decisions in the cool light of day.
  7. See things as they are, not as you think they are.  It’s that reptilian brain playing tricks with us again.  It sees a situation and starts bringing in historical events, drama and over-generalisation and, before we know it we’ve inflamed the situation.  See it for what it is.  A stolen passport, a disgruntled person or a soggy laptop.  Avoid the trap of ‘Why me?’ ‘It’s not fair’ and concentrate on creating a resolution.
  8. Take responsibility and learn from what has happened. As with everything in life, there is always a lesson.  I’m a great believer in ‘People (and indeed events) come into your life for a reason, season or a lifetime.’  Take time, after the challenge is over to explore what you can do differently to prevent it coming up again.  Take the experience positively so you can move on quickly.
  9. Let go!  Whatever has happened, work through the resolution and then let go.  Releasing the tension over a challenging situation means you move on with your travels, without the shadow clouding your experiences.  We hold onto too much negative emotion that affects our enjoyment of the the moment.  So learn to accept what has happened and then move forward.

So as we throw ourselves at the mercy of our wanderlust and commit to the joys of travel, remember that travelling mindfully is the key to our positive, self-expanding experiences that will have us trotting around the globe seeking out new adventures for as long as forever may be for us.

With love and happiness Karen x

Karen is a life coach, author and travel commentator who, with her seriously entertaining husband Myles, are feeding their curiosity with full-time travel in their camper. Together they are passionate about inspiring you to travel; whenever, wherever and however you can.

 

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Creative Gifts for Travellers

Creative Gifts for Travellers

Finding creative gifts as a traveller can be really hard.  And  whilst travelling in any form has its joy, delight and its own fair share of challenges, as we continue to learn on our full-time, nomadic lifestyle.  Although to every challenge there is always a creative solution that often provides a far better outcome.  In this latest blog for our Life on the Road series we offer an alternative view of gift giving when you’re travelling whether as a weekend warrior, long-term or full-time. Be inspired by these creative gifts for travellers that will bring simplicity and joy to the receivers. 

As a proverbial giver and people-pleaser, one of my greatest joys is presenting gifts to people.  I love finding, choosing and giving meaningful presents that show people how they matter to me.  So you can imagine how this aspect of my personality has been seriously challenged as we continue to commit to our lives travelling around Europe in our motorhome.  Both getting gifts to my loved ones back ‘home’ and finding gestures of kindness for fellow travellers that we connect with along the way, is tricky.  After all when you are living in a small home, have a weight and space consideration or are moving around a lot with perhaps just a backpack or small camper, having any more ‘stuff’ than is absolutely necessary is just not practical, despite the gratification it creates.  Consider the added fact that with umpteen culturally diverse local shops enticing you with their handmade wears, it’s so hard to resist their goodies as you know how impractical it is to package things up and send them home.

So what’s a ‘giving sort of girl’ to do with this conundrum?

Well three things strike me as I write about this travelling challenge.  First is how to use your imagination to make lovely gestures to your loved ones.  Second is making use of the internet and the third is being inspired by the creativity of others you meet along the way and being motivated by their gifting perspectives.

 

Imagination and creativity in gift giving

Travel has been one of my greatest teachers and no more do I look to the commerciality of gift giving – practicalities guide me to seek out my inspiration from nature and ‘out of the box’ resources. One of the skills I am fortunate enough to have is being creative and using my imagination to conjure up gifts that come from the heart and that are made with love.  A long time ago I learnt that giving is not about price or volume, it’s thinking about someone and finding a way to expresses your love. We gave up buying presents for annual celebrations years ago as it is so easy to get caught up in the marketing trap that invites us to spend money on meaningless gifts because we are conditioned into think that is the right thing to do.

Travelling has taught me otherwise.

 

So now I use my creativity to look at gift ideas in a different way;

As a child, one of my dad’s friends told me that whenever you are walking along a pebble beach, look out for stones that have a hole going all the way through, as this comes with good luck blessings.  So now beach combing takes on a whole new perspective for me as I search for said stone with said hole.  Then add a bit of unwanted ribbon cut from one of my tops, hey presto I have an instant SAFE TRAVEL and GOOD FORTUNE charm.

The beach has so many sources of inspiration for me. When I lived in a house, I used to pick flat stones, varnish and paint them with meaningful words for my recipient. These days without the room for varnish and paint, I use my Sharpie pens to write messages of love on small stones, which carries the same sentiment.

Pruning wild rosemary and making it into a little bouquet can be as lovely a gift as a shop bought bunch of flowers that will die within a week. Rosemary has so many healthy properties that it comes with two-fold advantage.

 

Food is a great way to show appreciation or gratitude.  Even in the smallest of kitchens, baking, juicing or cooking up a meal for someone can be a beautiful gift that is wrapped with time and love. We met a guy who shared some wine with us a couple of weeks back and in return, the next day, he had made us some beautiful flapjacks.  Thanks Colin, wherever you are.

Although I’m very careful where and how, sometimes a little bunch of wild flowers can be a lovely gesture. We were in Greece for May Day, where the tradition is to pick wild flowers and make them into a wreath or bouquet.  And so I got up early and found such an array of brightly coloured, spring flowers for my dashboard and our convoying friends and it gave me so much joy to do it.

I use my Art Therapy Colouring book and my Sharpies to give me my sheets of wrapping paper. I’ve even been know to decorate the paper that protects my morning bread from the bakery to cover my gifts.

Back to the beach – make it a sandy one this time – why not draw messages in the sand and then take a photo?  You can either leave the messages for someone you are travelling with to read, or email or WhatsApp the photo to a friend who is back home.  Alternatively, make a heart with pebbles and stones and fire this over to them instead.  They will be so happy that you have thought about them in this way.

 

 

The internet is a great ‘gifting’ resource

These days, being remote doesn’t have to mean that gifts can be sent in time for celebrations.  In fact it is such an easy way to remind people that you are thinking of them.  Shopping and sending creations remotely can be done so effortlessly these days; with a bit of a signal, the press of a few buttons and hey presto; gift chosen, purchased and sent.  Here’s some of the ways we send gifts remotely;

  • I love taking creative photos, whether with my Samsung phone or my DSLR Camera.  I then use a Photo Editing App – Pixlr to add text or to create a collage that I then email to friends to convey our happy times together.
  • I love to upload photos into eCard websites such as Funky Pigeon or my favourite is Moonpig so I can send personalised love through the post for Anniversaries and Birthdays.  And Snapfish to create photo albums of memories for special occasions.
  • I also use the web for gift and flower deliveries just to let people know I’m thinking of them or for saying thank you.  Big stores, such as Marks and Spencer or John Lewis are great resources for our UK friends or Amazon for UK and worldwide deliveries.  Liberty Trading is also great for different gift ideas that you can send from afar.
  • I have started to use on-line florists, Bloom&Wild who are a letterbox flower delivery company and they are fabulous.  Really lovely, organic flowers and bouquets, suiting all budgets.  And ordering can be pretty much ‘next day’ in case you’ve forgotten that all-important date because you’re too busy having fun or in the midst of travelling.

 

Inspiration from others

One such memory is of Belpech, France with the Pyrenees as our backdrop, where we met Sarah and Keith. After a delightful evening with them, Sarah gifted us these gorgeous table mats that she had made by hand, whilst on her travels.  She used scraps of material that she collected along the way and made blankets, bedcovers and placemats.  Such an inspiration if you have that skill.

Over our four years I have loved our friendship bracelets. Each one made, purchased or gifted with love. My turtle bracelet was given to me in Pozzuoli, Naples by a six year old boy – and to this day we have never quite understood what I did to deserve such generosity from this child. Although I will never forget him. As we will always have the friendship of fellow travellers in our hearts, who were once strangers and now friends for life.

 

A lady who we met in Dénia, Spain used old magazines that she no longer needed to make these beautiful paper flowers. What a lovely and creative gift.

 

So you can travel, stay in touch with loved ones and give gifts of love – it’s just about looking at presents and sharing differently and without the commercial edge and expectation.  And the best bit?  Making something, crafting something with your own fair hand gives the giver so much joy and pleasure; so everyone’s a winner.

There are so many resources at our fingertips, so much simplicity – we just need to see giving to others in a new light and boom! From a challenge to a creative solution; a gift from your heart to theirs giving you both so much more meaning and value.

 

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