2011, Full of Intention.

Wow. What a crazy year. Just over a year ago I found out that my Dad's inoperable brain tumor was growing. It has been an emotional, overwhelming year - filled with sadness, fear, and confusion. With that said, this year has also been amazing - filled with family, love - lots of love, prayer, positivity and friends. I've learned to take nothing for granted, and that phrase "Living each day as if it's your last"...well, it has taken on a whole new personal meaning. Living life to your fullest capacity and going through your days with love, compassion and respect. I think that it's silly to have GOALS for the New Year - but I did come up with a list of Intentions that I will meditate on and try to integrate into my life as best as to my ability. Here they are:

• Mother Earth.

I know, I know...you're thinking, "Oh Christ, here come's the hippy dippy shit". But honestly, WE {yes I say WE, this is something that we should all set as an intention for 2011} need to take better care of our planet, because quite frankly we are doing a Shitty job, and she's all we've got. I subscribed to National Geographic a couple months ago, and that shit is just amazing. Our planet is SO beautiful and complex and just completely divine. We have truly been blessed with a place so amazing. National Geographic does a great job displaying her infinite beauty and gifts - but it also does a great job of portraying how despicably we treat her. Every NG magazine has made me cry - legitimate tears - with complete disgust for how all of us {including myself} either actively participate in this disrespect, or actively continue to turn a blind eye - which is even worse! Whales, social animals, are traveling alone, getting lost in the sea, and are unable to find food because of us! These mammals depend on SOUND for every aspect of their lives, and our constant noise is causing them to go deaf, or it is so loud that it is masking their modes of communication and navigation. "Well, doesn't the ocean absorb sound waves?", you ask - well it did, but now the molecular structure of the water has been broken down by our carbon emissions. Did you know that the largest spawning grounds for Salmon in Alaska, the beautiful Bristol Bay, is in the process of being turned into a 30 miles of Mining Mills? They'll be mining for gold and copper - contaminating the water, forever changing the ecosystem of this breathtaking bay, jeopardizing the lives of the salmon, and severely affecting the simple and traditional lives of the Bristol Bay population - which has depended upon the Bay's salmon run for decades now. These two stories - just a drop in the bucket. My point of this story, or better yet- my INTENTION for this: to become more aware of my carbon footprint, and to become more involved with the earth that I live on and have been given life from. Whether it is sending $10 to a Save the Whales organization, or writing a letter to the politicians involved with Bristol Bay - the point is to not only give a damn, but put that into action. Becoming proactive about my affect on the Earth and my involvement in protecting her.

• Consume Less.

I guess that you could say that this is part of the first Intention: lessening my carbon footprint. Shop less - use less plastic bags, become more regimented about recycling, turning off the lights, taking shorter showers. But this one in particular is in relation to food: consume less!! My eyes tend to be bigger than my stomach, but I always end up cleaning my plate and eating to the point where it hurts. Don't get me wrong - I will still enjoy food, and I don't plan to change my diet to vegan or vegetarian standards anytime soon - but I want to eat less, enjoy more.

• Patience. Patience, Patience, Patience, Patience, PATIENCE.

Have you met me? Need I say more? Patience.

• Be Fearless.

I have grown so much in just the past two years, that I must say - I'm really proud of myself. I'm constantly surprised at how I overcome these self-proclaimed "debilitating fears". I have been a little chicken shit since I was a kid, scared of everything. And now at 23, well - I'm still a chicken shit. I'm scared of vampires, scary movies + books {and even commercials}. I'm scared of the dark. I'm scared of my basement and my attic {which thankfully has evolved into only a nighttime fear - I'll brave it during the daylight hours}. At night when I have to get something from the garage, I bring a flashlight and my dog - my cell phone in my pocket - and I run there, and run back. All of my fears are completely irrational, and regardless of being able to recognize this - they are still deep fears none-the-less. My biggest fear of them all though is also the biggest surprise to most people: THE OCEAN. Yep, the fishermans daughter - the avid surfer...completely and utterly terrified of the deep blue sea. I'd like to think that over the past few years that this fear has evolved into respect, but sometimes the line is blurred. Am I worried about drowning? Getting eaten by a shark? Getting swallowed up by a kelp bed? Who the hell knows. I'm scared sometimes of apologizing - because I don't want to come across as weak. I'm scared of death. I'm scared of uncertainty. I'm scared of the fact that I might get scared! Christ! But this is what I do know:

I am an awful bike rider...and for that matter, awful concerning anything on wheels. I'm also terrified of heights. Well in Ecuador last year I biked 62 km, SIXTY TWO!! And not only that, but it was down a huge mountain, with little or no guardrails, dropping down into a deep dark abyss. We passed enormous waterfalls and cliffs. I finished exhausted and a bit shaky - but after getting back to our hostel and enjoying I beer, I'd never been more proud of myself. That was until...

62 Km Bike Ride.

The Galapagos Islands. As I said above - terrified of the water. So a huge fear of mine is snorkeling, especially in a place {ie the Galapagos} who's waters are filled with sharks, manta rays, cute sea lions and very very angry male sea lions, and so much more. Well, I wasn't the first one off the boat - but I was the last one to get out of the water. I was fucking terrified the whole time that I was swimming along, giggling {that's what I do when I'm terrified and excited and nervous}, but I did it. The reward: having a young seal swim circles around me and nibble on my fins for about 20 minutes, playing a game of hide and seek.

Galapagos Islands, Snorkeling.

I'm deathly afraid of heights - maybe it's because I fell off of the monkey bars when I was a kid and broke my arm - who knows. Well last year I flew an open air Piper Cub airplane over San Diego....my stomach was turning, I was smiling from ear to ear and my palms were sweating profusely...but I did it.

Post-Flight.

And now - I'm heading out soon for Asia - 4 months, solo. And you know what - I'm not afraid. I'm going to try new foods, meet new people, attempt to navigate countries that are unknown and the language completely foreign. I'm going to use my kindness, compassion and respect to work my way through Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam and Bali. I'm going to practice the act of being fearless....letting go.

And finally, Mom - I hate to say this, but my last Intention for 2011 is:

• To continue saying Fuck.

I know, I know - I am so very sorry, I KNOW that this word really bothers you - down to the core. And for this reason, I will try to reel it in as much as possible whenever I'm around you and Dad, but this word just seems to be a part of me. I have tried to refrain from using my favorite cuss word, one of my favorite words in general, but it just feels unnatural. I've tried to substitute Rochelle's "Foo-y", Janelle's "Fungul", and my own sub "What the F" or "Are you F*ing kidding me?". So, though I will try to keep it tame around you - I'm going to let my Fuck flag wave high, because saying that word just feels right. I mean no offense, I mean no disrespect, it just is a four letter word.

I know that there is certainly much more that I could work on - but I'm going to start here, and really pour my heart into living into these intentions.

So, Happy 2011 everyone....may your year be filled with forgiveness, understanding, love, respect, happiness, humility and compassion.

...Giving.

This year I only had one gift to give. A book, for my Dad. A book that I've been working on for the past 6 months, it's called "The Places We Will Go".

I can describe this book by using the introduction that I used on the second page:

Dad, Remember this summer when i wrote you a letter, discussing the things that I would miss if you weren't around? Well that gave me the idea for this book, and I've been working on it ever since. At first it begin as a tiny little 'pamphlet', simply listing the places that I planned to go in the future along with a short sentence about something I'd like to do, see or eat while there. I quickly realized though that i had to call in reinforcements...how was I supposed to know about what to do in spain and the best place to eat in Portugal if I'd never been there?! I began emailing friends from around the world- asking for their help. I explained that you, my father, has been my inspiration and constant motivation for my life of travel. You have encouraged me to explore and discover, while most parents are shoving jobs, 401Ks, and mortgages down their children's throats. The initial encouragement to see what's 'out there' has sparked an irresistible passion to make this my way of life....a fire that blazes hotter and stronger with each passing day. I live to meet new people, to entice my palate with delicious new foods, to jump, climb, sing and laugh my way through places near and those very, very far away. And most of all- I love to be able Share these experiences with you...whether in person, via Skype or through my blog. Over the past two years I have become so enveloped with my blog-- writing about all of the incredible stuff is just about as fun as Doing all of it was! When you first got really sick and I actually sat back and opened my eyes to the situation, It hit me that i just couldnt fathom this world, my world, without YOU in it. Who would I tell my stories too? All that I do I do FOR you or is inspired by the love FROM you. I was devastated about all that you'd miss...the places Id go, the amazing things that I would encounter, the perfect waves I would surf and the amazing people that I would meet along the way. Well, this book is a look into my FUTURE. It reads like my blog....so that you are able to get a glimpse into all of the mayhem and adventure that I have to look forward to. And whether you are here on earth or up in heaven, you are ALWAYS in my heart- and therefor we go to all of these places together. I hope that you enjoy the adventure that I've conjured up for us dad, I love you as big as the universe. 

The people involved:

sharon stabley - marrakech
juan theron - africa
nicole gorton - bali
bar zirinski - israel
anastasia van wingerden - chile
adam mcconnell - el salvador
jesus varas - spain
michele haller - sri lanka
emily corkill - vietnam, cambodia, laos
camilo navarro - panama
erin biddle - colorado
chris del moro - italy
mari & maja - norway
becki vicars - guatemala
ozzie hoppe - australia
erin doyle - tokyo
greg beck - france
julia bandy - sicily
lila roo duncombe-lieber - maine
ravi patel - india
chris paisley - new zealand
marcia ardito - brazil
rochelle sotter - spain (pt2)
thoralf - portugal
 
I was so touched by everyones involvement in the project that I created an indepth INDEX along with this, 
Index: 
 
As the months passed that I worked on this- receiving emails, writing thank you letters, cutting and pasting- I realized that HOW I came about getting these stories was pretty amazing, and that the story about WHO I got them from was just as interesting as the story they told. In fact, the only way that this book was possible is BECAUSE of YOU. Afterall, it was you that encouraged me to travel- and through traveling I'd met all these people. Because of you (and a big thanks to wonderful things like facebook and email that help us stay connected) I was able to email people from every corner of the globe, enlisting their assistance for this project. My friends who helped me complete this project are some of the most spectacular, talented, kind and loving individuals that I have ever met. When I asked for their help, they jumped at the opportunity- after all, they'd ALL heard many a story about MY DAD. It broke my heart that theyd never get to meet the great man, the one who made me who I am. And I was sad too that you would never get to meet these fascinating, fabulous people who have played a huge role in molding me into the woman that I've grown to be. But now, things are looking up- the sun is shining bright over the horizon- and I have high hopes that you'll be sticking around for a good while!! Hopefully you'll be able to meet these wonderful people who contributed to our book!

Merry Christmas Dad. 

High Seas & Low Seas

I went to bed last night flying high...a wonderful date, a wonderful evening. Fast forward four hours, and I was woken up to "Cailin, we need to take Dad to the hospital." He had woken up in a pool of his own saliva because he couldn't swallow, completely dehydrated and pretty delirious. We got him to the hospital and he was in complete discomfort - they hooked him up to an IV cocktail of: fluids, antibiotics, pain meds, and a steroid. I couldn't help but to cry. I hate seeing him in pain, and it scares the shit out of me when he is disoriented. He was in and out of sleep, and once everything kicked in he was able to swallow again and talk. Hallelujah. My Dad is not my Dad when he's not talking. He's always the life of the party, the head honcho in a conversation, the center of attention. BAH. SO, I was glad when he came back to life, even if it was only because of the drugs they pumped into him. The first thing he said was "Hey - what time is it? 7am? I want McDonald's pancakes". Hahahaha...nothing to eat in 10 days, barely able to swallow water, unable to speak - and the first thing he wants are McD's pancakes. Mom and I had a good laugh...and then we gave in and bought him some pancakes. He ate them like an indentured prisoner, feeling no pain because of all his med's. So the ebb and flow of life...the tide fills in, and the tide rolls out. You laugh and you cry and you're happy and you're sad.

Today has certainly been a struggle...and I feel like the universe knows when you are having a hard time. And I believe that THIS is why we have friends. THIS is why my beloved Julia, who works 360 days a year in Seattle, just so happens to be here during the most difficult week I've had yet. Also, I received an email from a good friend Martha who lives in Ocean City. She has been such a rock for me, person that I can really talk to about death -- why it happens, what I'm going through, how it hurts, and what the fuck I'm going to do about it. Martha lost her sister years ago, and shes described the pain as "always there...but the pain evolves over the years into something more bearable". The email that she sent me today really helped, and I hope that she doesn't mind if I share it with you all:


Hey Darlin',

Yesterday morning I was thinking about you and your parents. Thinking about death and it's potential closeness. Thinking how your Dad might look at you and smile because you are such a lovely lady. You know how to live and love and learn the lessons along the way. Thinking about how if I was your Dad I would be so proud of you and confident that you will go forth and continue living as the beacon you are.
I imagine that it is almost easier for Dad than it is for you and Mom because you two will be left behind... and that's if he moves on from this life in a month or in 25 years... cause you never know.
Treatment is so gnarly... seems like there is no chance to be healthy again... but strange things have happened.
Here's to hoping.

You are on my mind

i love you
peace,
Martha

p.s. November 6 is coming up... it will be six years since my sister died in a car accident... it hits me more often around this time of year. Sometimes I just start crying. I miss her. It's okay... loss is part of life and life is beautiful, so I'll take it

It's okay....LOSS is a part of LIFE,
and LIFE is BEAUTIFUL, so I'll take it.

Gratitude.

“If the only prayer you said in your whole life was, ‘thank you,’ that would suffice.” – Meister Eckhart

gratitude [ˈgrætɪˌtjuːd] n
a feeling of thankfulness or appreciation

In today's yoga class we set our intention for something we were thankful for. Dedicating our practice as an expression of gratitude, and a reminder of how fortunate we are {in so many ways}. I usually get my inspiration for class the night before, while I'm at work - leaving work - and getting ready for bed as I wind down from work. After quite-possibly the longest week I'd had all summer, after 7 hours in hell {aka Mildred's} following up a full day of catering, with blisters all over my feet from hot hot HOT molten-lava-hot sand, all I could think about was how EXCITED I was for my yoga class the next morning! After very little sleep, a ton of work, and then running around the restaurant - I wasn't thinking about my bed, or how nice it would be to rest my feet- I thought about how I couldn't wait to wake up in 5 hours and head to the beach to teach my Sunday morning class! It made me think about how thankful I am for such a great studio (aka the beach), for the amazing dedicated group of students that I have, and for the wonderful oasis we've created in class - knowing that no matter how little sleep or how much work, I always have these classes to look forward to on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays. A rejuvenation of the mind, body and spirit. When I decided on basing the class around the theme of gratitude, I started to think about all of the things that I was thankful for : the big things + the small things...because at the end of the day, they are all important and all deserve to be acknowledged.

I am grateful for my fathers health, that it is improving every day thanks to the help of my diligent mother, the dedicated doctors, and the love and prayers from friends, family and strangers.

I am grateful for the snail oil soap I bought in Ecuador, for $1.25, that will clear up every bimp, bump, and spot on your face.

I am grateful for the relationship that I have with my mother, which a year ago seemed somewhat broken and now has become stronger and happier and more wholesome than ever before. For her love and dedication to my dad's health, and even when he seems not to care, she still is regulating his diet, his supplements, his treatments, his doctor appointments...and writing thank you letters to his nurses.

I'm so very grateful for Julia Bandy, for our daily conversations - though they are only over the phone they fill me up with the right stuff. Years of friendship, many miles, broken hearts and some difficult life experiences have only brought us closer together.

I'm so thankful for FACEBOOK, and how it has allowed me to stay in touch with all of the amazing people I've met in my travels.

I'm grateful for wine, cause I'm sipping it right now and it's so damn delicious.

There is so much, so much, so much - big and small; friends, family, big earrings, my purple longboard, FOOD, healing - both spiritual and physical, all of it - I'm grateful for it all. I'm grateful for my burnt blistered feet...they are a reminder to never forget my shoes when walking down to the beach in the afternoon! I'm thankful for my fingertips which allow me to play guitar, and my legs which I allow me to be a nose-walking, trash talkin' son-of-a-bitch (as my dad would say). I'm grateful for these 4 months of mayhem, insanity, complete madness - working 24/i7....which allows me to live the life I lead, and play for 8 months out of the year. What are YOU thankful for? Acknowledge it, say it out loud, and express your gratitude!


I end class today, as everyone lay in Savasana, with this affirmation. Some of it was pulled from quotes online, some from random sites, and some was just from me...

I am forever grateful for the miraculous life energy in my body.
I am grateful for all the good in my life.
I am grateful for all the teachers in my life.
I am grateful for being able to hear my intuition.
I am grateful for every experience in my life.
I am grateful for every moment that I spend in silence.
I am grateful for having an open mind with which to receive new ideas.
I am grateful for my inner longing to connect with my soul.
I am grateful for my limitless inner resources.
I am grateful for my wonderful life.
I am grateful for the ability to turn inward and find peace.
I am grateful for the expanding journey that unfolds before me.
As I breathe in, I am grateful for the love I am receiving at this moment.
I am grateful for the power I have over my future.
I am grateful for the sound of the waves and the ebb + flow of the ocean, for the warmth of the sun and the beautiful breeze.
I am grateful to all who have helped me move closer to my dreams.
I am grateful to everyone who has brought positive energy into my life.
I am thankful for every spark of insight that inspires me.
As I inhale and exhale, I am so grateful to be alive and well.

WIKIPEDIA SAYS: {by the way, this is great, you should read it...}

Gratitude and Well-Being

A large body of recent work has suggested that people who are more grateful have higher levels of well-being. Grateful people are happier, less depressed, less stressed, and more satisfied with their lives and social relationships^[22][25][26] Grateful people also have higher levels of control of their environments, personal growth, purpose in life, and self acceptance.^[27] Grateful people have more positive ways of coping with the difficulties they experience in life, being more likely to seek support from other people, reinterpreted and grow from the experience, and spend more time planning how to deal with the problem.^[28] Grateful people also have less negative coping strategies, being less likely to try to avoid the problem, deny there is a problem, blame themselves, or cope through substance use.^[28] Grateful people sleep better, and this seems to be because they think less negative and more positive thoughts just before going to sleep^[29].

Gratitude has been said to have one of the strongest links with mental health of any character trait. Numerous studies suggest that grateful people are more likely to have higher levels of happiness and lower levels of stress and depression.^[30][31] In one study concerning gratitude, participants were randomly assigned to one of six therapeutic intervention conditions designed to improve the participant’s overall quality of life (Seligman et. all., 2005).^[32] Out of these conditions, it was found that the biggest short-term effects came from a “gratitude visit” where participants wrote and delivered a letter of gratitude to someone in their life. This condition showed a rise in happiness scores by 10 percent and a significant fall in depression scores, results which lasted up to one month after the visit. Out of the six conditions, the longest lasting effects were caused by the act of writing “gratitude journals” where participants were asked to write down three things they were grateful for every day. These participants’ happiness scores also increased and continued to increase each time they were tested periodically after the experiment. In fact, the greatest benefits were usually found to occur around six months after treatment began. This exercise was so successful that although participants were only asked to continue the journal for a week, many participants continued to keep the journal long after the study was over. Similar results have been found from studies conducted by Emmons and McCullough (2003)^[33] and Lyubomirsky et. all. (2005)^[31]

Whilst many emotions and personality traits are important to well-being, there is evidence that gratitude may be uniquely important. First, a longitudinal study showed that people who were more grateful coped better with a life transition. Specifically, people who were more grateful before the transition were less stressed, less depressed, and more satisfied with their relationships three months later.^[34] Second, two recent studies have suggested that gratitude may have a unique relationship with well-being, and can explain aspects of well-being that other personality traits cannot. Both studies showed that gratitude was able to explain more well-being than the Big Five and 30 of the most commonly studied personality traits

**I don't want to bore you with too much text, but IF you are interested this is a great article about WHY and HOW to live a live of Gratitude :)
http://zenhabits.net/why-living-a-life-of-gratitude-can-make-you-happy/

Me + Mary Poppins

I had a "house concert" unplugged, acoustic, intimate show the other night and after the show my friend Martha said "You are just like Mary Poppins". Random, I thought, my songs are definitely indie, but I wouldn't compare them to the likes of "Spoonful of Sugar" or "Chim Chim Cherreee". But no, she was comparing our effects on people, who we are. Mary Poppins is a magical nanny, who arrives in peoples lives to bring families closer. Martha said that I float from place to place, making people happy and bringing them together. Some people I'm helping to reconnect with whats good and wholesome inside of themselves, and some people she said just need my positive vibrations in their lives. I connect people through food and music and yoga. Damn Marth, you're going to make me cry.

vagabond.

Vagabond.

My Aunt Kate called me a "vagabond" yesterday. I looked it up in the dictionary to get a specific, politically correct definition...and I guess I'm kinda vagabondish. Dicitionary.com had somewhat of a negative connotation towards Vagabond, but I liked Wikipedia's definition..so we'll just go with that one!

Wikipedia says...

A Vagabond, or drifter, is an itinerant person. {Itinerant: a person who travels from place to place with no fixed home} Such people may be called drifters, tramps, rogues, or hobos. A vagabond is characterized by almost continuous traveling, lacking a fixed home, temporary abode, or permanent residence. Vagabonds are not bums, as bums are not known for traveling, preferring to stay in one location.

Historically, "vagabond" was a British legal term similar to vagrant, deriving from the Lation for "purposeless wandering". Following the Peasants' Revolt, British constables were authorized to collar vagabonds and force them to show their means of support; if they could not, they were jailed.

By the 19th century the vagabond was associated more closely with Bohemianism. The critic Aruthur Compton-Rickett compiled review of the type, in which he defined it as men "with a vagrant strain in the blood, a natural inquisitiveness about the world beyond their doors." Examples include Henry David Thoreau, Walt Whitman, Leo Tolstoy, William Hazlitt and Thomas de Quincey.

SO...yeah, I guess I'm a vagabond. There's lots of words for it, though I prefer "World Citizen"! So for all of you nomad's out there, I raise my glass to you. Let the adventure begin.

"Con mis pezuñas de cordero ,

me propuse recorrer el continente entero ,

Sin brújula, sin tiempo, sin agenda"

- Calle 13 'Pal Norte'

The Power of Food.

Dinner parties galor!!

As many of you may have realized, I love food. I love cooking it, eating it, preparing it, buying it -- and above all, sharing it. I have shared a dinner table with people from India, Panama, Japan, Spain, Norway, Germany...all corners of the world! Food brings people together. It relax's them, comforts them and put rather simply - makes them happy! James Beard said that "Food is our common ground, a universal experience". How true, and how close to my heart. Preparing a meal is my way of showing love - opening my home {or sometimes hostel, or shack, or temporary house} and connecting with people. Whether it be coffee or an exquisite four course meal, I am so thankful for those that I've been able to share this passion with.

"If the divine creator has taken pains to give us delicious and exquisite things to eat, the least we can do is prepare them well and serve them with ceremony." -- Fernand Point

Ladie's Dinner in Encinitas: green pea soup, curry apple salad, grilled steak and sauteed brussel sprouts.

Galapagos Islands: Aboard wooden sailboat, Sulidae: I'd make coffee every morning for the crew and all the guests - using my old tank top. It was very tedious, but I refused for us to drink instant coffee!

Hermosa Beach, CR: Dinner party @ Noah's. Big pot of Coconut Curry.

Banos, Ecuador: Bar {from Israel} and I made dinner for the hostel. Australians, Americans, South Africans.

Panama: A huge feast on Juan's farm...all food from the property.

Esterillos Oeste: Casa Amarilla, dinner party {one of many}

Esterillos Oeste: Wake up at 4:45am, make coffee and then deliver it to my friends in bed. Watch the sunrise.

Dominical, CR: Dad and Me, cheffing it up -- every night!

South Jersey: FRIED CLAMS!

Casa de Adam...cooking up some goodies.

While I was cruising for a quote about sharing food I found this great quote about garlic, I couldn't agree more!

"Tomatoes and oregano make it Italian; wine and tarragon make it French. Sour cream makes it Russian; lemon and cinnamon make it Greek. Soy sauce makes it Chinese; garlic makes it good." -- Alice May Brock

Dazza's House, Encinitas CA. BBQ.

“There is no delight in owning anything unshared.”

The Art of Traveling

Found the most outstanding thrift store today in Cardiff, located next to my favorite bar in southern california, The Office. Anyways, stocked up on super cheap, super cute new digs and got a few books. One that I picked up was called "The Art of Living". It touches on...

The Art Of...

• Giving
• Traveling
• Mastering Fear
• Being Yourself
• Laughter
• Awareness
• Thinking
• Failure
• Adventure
• Selling
• Happiness
• Friendship
• Personal Efficiency
• Relaxation
• Leadership
• Being
• Reading
• Success
• Thanksgiving
• Achievement
• Staying Young
• Work
• Living Forever

It's actually a pretty rad book: in reference to content as well as the design and packaging {the graphic designer in me is a sucker for any kind of clever, cute packaging}. The one that is rather close to my heart at the moment is the big of the Art of Traveling. I thought I'd share some with you:

*Travel lightly. You are not traveling for people to see you.

*Travel slowly. Jet plans are for getting places not seeing places; take time to absorb the beauty and inspiration of a mountain or cathedral.

*Travel hopefully. "To travel hopefully," wrote Robert Louis Stevenson, "is better than to arrive."

*Travel humbly. Visit people and places with reverence and respect for their traditions and ways of life.

*Travel courteously. Consideration for your fellow travelers and your hosts will smooth the way through the most difficult days.

*Travel gratefully. Show appreciation for the many things that are being done by others for your enjoyment and comfort.

*Travel with an open mind. Leave your prejudices at home.

*Travel with curiosity. It is not how far you go, but how deeply you go that mines the gold of experience.

*Travel fearlessly. Banish worry and timidity; the world and its people belong to you just as you belong to the world.

*Travel relaxed. Make up your mind to have a good time.

*Travel patiently. It takes time to understand others, especially when there are barriers of language and custom; keep flexible and adaptable to all situations.

*Travel with the spirit of a world citizen. You'll discover that people are basically much the same the world around. Be an ambassador of good will to all people.