I’ve been spending a lot of time lately blissing out. I guess it’s only fair now to share some of that bliss with my fans.
I’ll begin with my quickly approaching trip to Europe. Only 7 weeks to go! I do have quite a bit of planning left but the structure of the trip is feeling pretty well-established. I’ve cut a couple of things out - for example, I won’t be visiting Venice afterall and am even considering cutting south France out as well. Reason being, I don’t want the trip to be about visiting as many places as I can in one month, but rather about getting to know a few places the best I can given the short time. Simply put: quality vs. quantity. I can just predict I’m gonna get to some of these places and not ever want to leave! That said, here is the new structure:
I arrive in Liverpool on April 21st. I will be there until April 30th. On that day, I have a flight booked to Rome, where I plan to spend about 4 days. May 5th - May 9th will be spent in Florence, Pisa and Cinque Terre. Uncertain here if I will take a train through South France, or simply just fly to Barcelona. Regardless, I will spend 5 days in Barcelona, Spain - so approximately May 9th - May 14th. The last 5 days of my trip will be then spent in south Spain, Malaga. My flight back to Calgary (from Malaga, Spain) is on May 19th.
Next topic, happiness. There are lots of things that make me happy. Here are some things that have been keeping me happy.
A couple of weeks ago, my friend Lacey bought me the new Hey Rosetta CD. Anyone who knows me well knows I am a HUGE fan, (and perhaps even their biggest fan!) The new songs are bringing me great joy, and so much joy that I’ve even been brought to tears by a couple of them. Isn’t that amazing – that music can stir the soul like that? Hey Rosetta songs and I – we just really get along. They’re always there for me, they always treat me well. It’s a good relationship.
Last Sunday morning, for the first time in a while, I visited the Centre for Spiritual Living. They had a guest speaker, Sig Taylor, a local relationship counselor who really left an impression on me. So much so that I registered for a 2-part seminar with him. While I feel I’m in a pretty healthy and mature relationship right now, I do believe there is always room for growth and healthier habits. Having already completed half of the seminar, it really would be too much to share right now with you everything I’ve learned but perhaps my next blog post:)
But another positive aspect that this experience has brought is the feeling of inspiration. What Sig Taylor does, how he does it and why he does it, really inspires me. Everyone has interactions, and is in relationships, of all sorts, and they’re all unique. I just feel it would be an interesting career – to study relationships. Reflecting back on my university career, sociology of gender courses were really the only thing that tickled my fancy. Is that a sign that maybe I should take more seriously? Should I, like Sig, head back to school and get me a masters degree in social work and become some sort or relationship therapist? Hmmmmm.
I’m loving being alone these days. It’s actually something I’ve grown fonder and fonder of over the years – but just rarely speak aloud about. I really like my own company and feel time alone is essential to my personal well-being. It’s therapeutic, it’s healthy, it’s perfect, always. And, I feel I’m getting just enough of it too, not too much nor too little, it’s just about right these days.
Alone, I like hiking alongside the river for hours, most times without my ipod, but occasionally with, just being, just enjoying the moment, the scenery, the frozen water, the dried flowers
Alone, I like cleaning my house with Phoenix blasting on the speakers, sippin’ on my hot lemon water that makes me so happy
Alone, I like to play with Fisher and learn from the beauty of her simplicity
Alone, I like to meditate occasionally, especially when the gusts of gratitude just become so overwhelming
Alone, I love to create, create valentines cards with the prettiest, most romantic paper, create Christmas cards or postcards for my friends and family
Alone, it’s just so nice to reflect and soak in the beauty that is now
