I'm back in the US of A after traveling in South America for almost a year with my family (travel adventures on the 'gram). I wish I could say I was thrilled to be back, but sometimes endings are just plain tough, and this is one of those times.
I've never completed a big bucket list item like this one before and there was something to the cadence of being in new places and figuring out basic life in a different language (what's the currency? is there hot water? where do we shop for groceries? can we flush toilet paper?) that felt really satisfying and simple.
I'm nervous about slipping into the life we uprooted from back in the fall. Returning to Austin will be another layer of integrating what this travel has been for myself and our family and implementing the values that became much more clear as to how we want to live and be in the world. Integration is where the rubber hits the road in the cycle of transformation, and the inertia of our old life will likely be the big, bad wolf for these 3 little piggies!
But that's the way it goes with transformation, and integration from a transformative experience is where concepts are turned into embodied living. Without integration, a concept or insight stays in your head as a nice thought without implementation and a bliss experience remains an awe-filled moment that you attempt to re-create again and again.
So I'll have one foot in South America and one foot in the U.S. for a bit as I navigate this space of integration/re-entry, old life/new life and remember that the energy I'm creating with is what makes a new reality possible.
Especially as I'm looking at all these boxes of stuff that need to be dealt with once we get back home! This is only 1 of 4 places we've stored/jammed/thrown our things, so I'm suspecting there will be another layer of deep purging to be had.
After living out of 1 medium-sized suitcase for almost a year (and that was even overpacking I discovered!), having all this stuff feels quite unnecessary. I've touched on the topic of "stuff" and all the interesting layers attached to why we hang on to things in my What's in Your Junk Drawer post. Always a good read if you're in need of a little help with letting go - I know I'll be tapping into those purging practices soon.
Ok, and some quick takes as I try to catch up. Am I getting this right??
A bag of chips is $7 USD?
Barbie and Ken are dollsplaining the roles of feminine and masculine in our modern society on the big screen?
A few people have been real busy banning books?
Covid was declared "over" (glad the politicians got that virus all tidied up)?
UFO's (UAPs) are fer real but the gov is still trying to keep it on the DL?
And lastly,
Elon Musk is following me on Instagram thank you very much. 😁
