For 3 months I have been traveling the US and Europe. I have hiked the Himalayas of Kashmir India and lived in the ashram of my Guru all the way to the south. I have slept on couches of strangers and made lifelong friends. One by one, I have checked things and places off of my bucket list. There are still many to go; but while sitting at the base of the Eiffel tower, sun started to set through its magnificent architecture, I realized something. There are just some things that are worth holding out for the fairytale, to experience. Already deciding to not get the bottle of wine, but an ice cream cone and a bottle water, something still wasn’t quite right.

I have always imagined that sunset: sitting there with a glass of wine, on a blanket; but laying there with someone else, sharing in each others company the beauty of the experience. As I walked away, about an hour before the sun actually sat, I knew I would be back, only this time not just for the experience, but to fulfill the fairytale I’ve always dreamed of.

Walking the streets of Rome or hiking through the majestic palace gardens of Sintra Portugal, being alone was fine: it was more than fine… it was perfect. But here in Paris, there is something different. I normally don’t mind being alone, actually prefer it… that way I can just get lost in the moment and experience the energy and go wherever feels right: but not here! Maybe it’s the larger streets. Maybe it’s that the city is so dirty and old. Maybe it’s that I don’t speak the language, other than: hello, please, thank you, I don’t speak French- do you speak English. I just don’t know. In other cities I wanted to explore, and I was always on the go: but not here.

Here, I want to sit. Here, I want to just watch the day go by, and allow my imagination to fly. Here, I feel like I am going inside as a poetic flame begins to burn. There is a romance here, and it doesn’t feel right to be experiencing it by myself.  I want to share this with someone, and not after I’ve already experienced what seems all the city has to offer, but for the first time. I feel inspired here. Paris is truly the city of love. Even in all the hustle and bustle, I feel calm, like nothing is going anywhere.

People have said this trip that I’m on, is the trip of a lifetime, something that only happens once. I say why? As I have begun to let go of the limitations that society has taught me, I have truly learned that anything is possible in this world. It is not about working hard for long hours to get somewhere in life: it is about letting go and allowing life to happen: in this moment, not in the future somewhere.

From here, I fly to Salzburg Austria, and then drive for 4 hours, high into the Alps to spend a few weeks. I will be hanging with a friend I have been talking to online for the last year or so. Something about this part of my trip feels like I am going home. See, I grew up in a small town of 1200 people (1180, when I left back in 1990) deep in the Rocky Mountains of Montana. I grew up tucked away from the rest of the world. But, it was there, that I learned the beauty and the simplicity of life. For those of you who know me, you have heard me say a time or 2 that I am just a small town country boy. Of course, my mom says I have never been a small town country boy! Lol Somehow I have always known there was another world out there, beyond the walls and confines of life as I knew it. Little did I know, that as I got older and had the opportunity to explore the world, it would be that simple life in the mountains, that no matter how crazy life seems, or how fast my mind began to spin I could always go back to to find peace.

To this day, when things in my life get crazy, I can still close my eyes and remember those spring and summer days when I would follow the creek behind the house to the Kootenai River, and get lost in the sound of its power. I would close my eyes and I remember disappearing. I would begin to hear the whisper of the wind, the song of the birds and the rustle of some of the wildlife nearby. I was never afraid of living when I was there. I always felt connected like everything would be OK. And I would sit, sit for what seemed hours. Maybe that is why, even to this day, in all of my teachings: I find walking meditations and Elemental therapy to be the most powerful. No matter where any of us go, you can always find the elements, then of course color (my other favorite form of therapy)! I really miss those days.

I have not made any plans for how long I will stay in Austria, or where I am going and what I am doing after. As the day I go there approaches, I can feel something inside me starting to shift. Something is really longing for a place to call home, even if just for a while. I still have many places to go, and lots of traveling ahead of me; but, the idea of pulling everything out of suit cases, putting it in drawers and closets and putting the suit cases, or in my case duffel bag away just sounds heavenly.

Maybe I will take the time I am in Austria and begin to set up retreats, combining my Conscious Awakening Seminar and Reiki Certification courses in a few countries around Europe, but hang out in Austria for a few months and do some real writing.

Well, time to get showered and dressed to go meet a new Parisian friend for coffee in the center.

So whether it’s a glass of wine at sunset under the Eiffel Tower, laying in front of a fire during a blizzard, Floating down the canals in Venice, or a Sunrise in Fiji… I guess there are just some things in life worth holding out for the fairytale on. This isn’t the trip of a Lifetime; it is only a taste of what life is supposed to be about. I guess I will always just be a Hopeful Romantic… because there is nothing Hopeless about Love!

Have a Great Day (or not) You Choose