A Path Less Trodden #CarpeDiem: April 2015

Well, here I sit, approximately 6 months of traveling later, in the same seat where it all began. Outside, the grass is the same shade of half-green that it was late August of last year, and my faithful feline is once again lounging upon my desk. I’m a couple shades darker, and wear an elephant spangled bracelet from Thailand, along with an ankle bracelet as a reminder of my trip through Latin America. Perhaps I should have some wise words or tokens of insight to brandish in this closing blog. Perhaps, however, the sum of my experiences aren’t really something I wish to simplify or condense into something even so small as a blog post. I explored, saw incredible sights, met wonderful people, observed lifestyles vastly different from my own, and did everything I thought I would do and more than a couple things I thought I wouldn’t.

Going forward, I expect many things to change. I have a summer to work, perhaps in Verizon, and I hope to work on some personal ideas as well. Furthermore, I will be living on my own (as my parents will be in Oregon during the Summer), and subsisting on what I make during this summer which will be an adventure of itself. Not to mention, I will also be changing location yet again this fall as I transition to living in Boston, MA. In spite of all these changes, I feel they will pale in comparison to the variety of changes I have experienced over the past 6 months, and my excitement for the future outweighs any anxiety I may have felt.

I also want to take this opportunity to say something that I thought about while I was at a Buddhist retreat in Thailand. I thought of this, and wrote it out as follows: “Everyone has the ability to be anything, ultimately. You may wish to be one way, but if that path is difficult or unfitting, you can always create yourself. Your actions and words make you who you are, but your mind controls those actions, and ultimately you control your mind. You only have to be strong enough to be able to control your mind, and you can turn yourself into whatever you want or need to be. At a Meditation retreat with a Buddhist that has been meditating for over two decades I meditated for over 4 hours a day! I knew some of the things the Buddhist master taught, remembered some perspectives I had forgotten, and learned new ideas as well. He said, we all must change ourselves, to fit with our family, our friends, and those around us (not in a way that takes away individuality). Never let life get you down, my friends, because you only need to control your mind, change your perspective and see things objectively, not emotionally. Anyway, here are a few quotes I found interesting, “Those who give out longevity, health, happiness, and wisdom will be honored the same in return” and “If with a pure mind a person speaks or acts, happiness follows him like his never-departing shadow.””

I hope you have enjoyed following my adventures over the past 6 months, and I will continue to update my blog occasionally as I progress through the next chapter of my gap year. Furthermore, I hope that these thoughts hold meaning to you as well. They apply, I think, in almost every part of life. Changing your mind is the first step to creating your future. You just need to seize your mind, and then you can seize the day. Carpe Diem, my friends, Carpe Diem!