Almost Home

Hi,

I arrived back in the U.S. on Sunday.  The kids are on vacation this week, so I met them in Florida to look at colleges.  We have tours scheduled over the next couple of days.  It’s fun watching Victoria figure out her next step and having this time together to reconnect.  All of my travels are rubbing off on her and she’s looking at schools with study abroad programs.  One even has a Freshman year abroad in Valencia, Spain.  I love that!

The rest of my time in Singapore went well.  My Western style of Feng Shui was very well received and I had fun spending time seeing the city with friends from the “Awaken” program.

From Singapore, I went to Bali for another retreat.  My friend, Sue, from Groton, MA met me there early and we had fun seeing the sites and getting settled in before our program started.

I really loved Bali.  Our hotel was on the side of a mountain in the jungle with beautiful trees, plants and rice terraces.  We had views of a distant volcano.

The Balinese people are very friendly and happy.  When I landed in Bali, I followed my driver’s ear to ear smile across the airport and it made me feel so welcome there.

People from Bali  live very close to the land and only grow what is needed.  In the village near our hotel, each family has it’s own rice crop and vegetable  garden.  They only eat meat when they can afford it.  In the city, I saw several Kentucky Fried Chickens and our drive said only the “upscale” people can afford to eat there.

Each evening they end the day thanking God for their day and in the morning they get up thanking him for giving them another one.  They live in the moment and you can feel how open are.

Our retreat in Bali was excellent, too.  Each of us has a higher purpose and this retreat focused on the steps we are going to take to fulfill them and clear out anything keeping us from moving forward.  I’m coming home centered, focused and excited for all the future holds.

I feel incredibly lucky to visit these amazing countries and to do these retreats.  At times it was really hard to be separated from my family, but I kept focusing on what a special gift this trip was.

When you are away from all that’s familiar–food, culture, family, home, and on a 12 hour time change from your family, all you have to fall back on is yourself.  This trip showed me how self-reliant and adaptable I can be.  I ate everything that was put in front of me and said, “YES” to every opportunity that came along and had a great time doing it.

Along the way when I was alone, I realized how having space makes you appreciate everything else more.  As one singer said, “It’s the space between the notes that makes the music.  Otherwise it would all just be noise.”  This adventure has definitely made me appreciate everything in my life that much more.

I plan to keep this blog going.  I hope you’ve enjoyed my adventures and I look forward to seeing you all in person soon!

Best wishes,

Lisa