1997…

Well! What can I say, the trip, journey, is coming to an end…it’s 5.55pm I’m cruising through the air from Boston to London…I’m experiencing such a mixed bag of emotions…

…my dream has been fulfilled in every way I could imagine and much more…I’ve fulfilled so many dreams in this trip and seen and experienced things I could only (if ever) imagine in my dreams.

I do feel like crying at the moment because I am sad. Ever since I was 10 years of age I have wanted to Backpack around the world. Never again or at least for a long time will I be able to go on such a prolonged experience !

I feel very centered, and have reached an equilibrium and plateaux on which I feel very contented and sorted…I feel very at peace with myself and my soul…

I read these words now as a 49 year old, I read them and smile…

I have got to travel extensively around the world since 1997, (maybe not exclusively for over 8 months)… it is the one gift Gary and I bestowed on our Cups, and their childhood…they have travelled Europe, UK, Ireland, SE Asia and America (Alex, Africa).

Travel has always been my love, it is my go-to desire…it is what excites me, and has moulded me… I know it all began in my first two years when we migrated to Singapore with dads job… my parents travelled when luxury was limited… I guess it has roughened my outer self and softened my inner soul…

In my diary from 1997 as I finished my travels I wrote about the 6 things I had learned!

– the love in my childhood

– power I have as me

– my love for Gary

– beauty of people and their cultures

– beauty of nature

– patience

In a week where we have been witness to scenes of such sad acts of cruelty, we have also been witness to many acts of absolute kindness!

In the past 10 weeks when we have experienced a complete upheaval of all that is familiar to us, we have also witnessed and realised what is most important to us

In my life, my 6 learnings from my travels, the love in childhood, the love of myself, the love in adult hood, the love of fellow man and their cultures, the love of nature, and patience to be still and mindful in life, have all been lived, loved and lent forward to my Cups…

1997…‘I’ve learnt to wait, and relax and take life as it comes….the realisation that…

I really don’t want to loose and miss out on any second in life!

Finally, it’s been beautiful, wonderful and I feel very happy with life…’

2020…the lessons of my travels, have been lived, passed on and loved….