We did a three-day overland trip from San Pedro de Atacama, Chile to Uyuni, Bolivia. We were told in the pre trip info that we’d need boots. Don discovered online that there is a street in Santiago where there are twenty second-hand shops. We went there and found a very serviceable pair of boots for each of us for $15 a pair. Can’t beat that. Don also found a great pair of jeans and me a pair of black pants.
After trekking all over the Uyuni salt flats, including through the watery parts, the boots were covered in salt and had served their purpose. We were happy to leave them behind in the hotel room in Uyuni.
The flight from Uyuni to La Paz. Okay. I’ve said before I don’t like flying. We’re told that all luggage will go on a later flight as there is bad weather in La Paz and the plane needs to be as light as possible. Well this sets the mood for me. We convince them to load Don’s and my bag since if they come on the later flight we’ll miss our connection by bus to Copacabana. Our bags are stuffed somewhere into the nose of the plane. Then we get on the turbo-prop plane: a twenty-seater tin can tube. No overhead luggage storage. I’m only 5’2” and I can barely stand in the centre between the row of single seats on either side of me. I watch the men bending double to get down the aisle. There’s no door between the passenger cabin and the cockpit. There are no flight attendants.
It’s a one-hour flight and I spent the entire time crying. Not from fear, but from grief. What arose was a deeper realization and recognition than I’ve ever had before that this body, this life-stream, this being Alison will end one day, maybe even today, and that there is nothing I can do about it. It always was impermanent, ephemeral, but we hide that from ourselves for various probably very good reasons, but I finally really got it. It’s going to end. I grieved the end of this life. Ironically it turned out to be a relatively smooth flight with a good landing. I’ve never understood why passengers clap the pilot after landing but I sure got it this time. We all clapped and hollered with appreciation and relief.
On arrival in Copacabana we discovered our hotel-room was a vaguely stylish freezing hellhole. That night neither of us slept much because we couldn’t get warm even with extra clothes on, huddled under, I promise you, the heaviest blankets ever made that simply would not tuck in around my body so every time I moved it was to a different freezing part of the bed. Oh joy. I threw a hissy fit in the middle of the night because I couldn’t get comfortable, and I couldn’t get warm, and I couldn’t get to sleep.
In the morning I discovered I’d left my very expensive orthotics in the boots in the hotel room in Uyuni.
There is no hot water tap at the bathroom sink so Don has no hot water to shave.
The hotel people are wonderful and bring a jug of hot water for Don, and an electric heater for the room. We plug in our international power plug, then our surge-protector power bar into which we plugged the heater, among other things. Slowly, very slowly, the room starts to warm up. We go out hoping that we’ll come back to a warm cozy room. We find the local market and some good-enough felt insoles for my shoes to replace the lost orthotics. We return home several hours later only to discover that the international plug we’d used was a little loose and had slipped a bit and there had been no power to the heater. We have a different plug that’s a tighter fit and get the heater going again.
We go out again and come back an hour or so later only to discover the entire hotel has no power. I wish I could say I burst out laughing at this point, but not quite yet.
I’ve lost track of days. It’s Christmas Eve. We go find a Wi-Fi café so we can recharge our computers and Skype the family in Australia. By the time we finish talking to everyone it’s about 10pm and we’re ready to head home. There’s still no power at the hotel. We are incredibly grateful to have warm clothing and very good head-lights. We’re given a propane heater for our room, but of course cannot have it burning overnight. Still it really blasts some heat into the room, and by this time we’ve sorted out the bedding so we can both be comfortable, and we get a reasonable night’s sleep.
We’re told that the hotel generator will be on from 7 to 8 the next morning to work the pump so we’ll have water for our bathroom.
At breakfast the next morning, that is, this morning, I look at Don across the table and burst out laughing. Merry Christmas honey. We both laugh.
But it’s not over yet. Don has a wide-mouth water bottle that he uses to mix greens powder with water that he drinks every morning. When he’s finished he can’t wash it out because there’s no water in our room (no generator to pump it) so he gives it to the man in the kitchen: apparently there is water there. Earlier we’d seen the hotel generator being loaded onto a truck – not a good sign. Don had told the man to use hot water to clean his bottle and then went back to our room. The man asks me whether to use boiling water or not. I’m kind of brain dead and say that’s okay. He fills it with hot water and the whole thing melts like a candle.
On top of all of this we both still have mild altitude sickness: runny snuffly noses, mild headaches, mild nausea, shortness of breath. It’s much better than it was, for both of us, but we’re hoping for better as we’ve still a few weeks to go at fairly high altitudes.
It’s Christmas Day. We’re in Copacabana, Bolivia on the shores of Lake Titicaca. After breakfast we wandered to the market, the town square, and the church. People everywhere. Decorated cars being blessed. Firecrackers exploding. The sun is shining. It’s a party. A surreal scene of joy, colour, beer-drinking, children having fun with new toys. The band is playing, of all things, Sounds of Silence. Our mood is buoyed by it all.
Then I go to upload the photos I took this morning and discover that my computer has almost no space on it. When I look at how it’s filled up there’s a long yellow bar, 168 gigs, almost half the space of the computer, taken up with some unknown thing simply labeled “other”. I’d never seen anything like it. Before that I’d taken everything in stride pretty much (except for throwing a hissy fit in the middle of the first night) but seeing that yellow bar on my computer, and no space left, and how could it get like that? And what could it mean? And how can we fix it? And there’s something wrong with my precious. Well that threw me into a complete funk. Briefly.
I’d forgotten to empty the trash. Oops.
And then for a while, until I discovered I wasn’t looking in the right place, I thought I’d deleted all the morning’s photos. Sigh.
The take home message? The same as always – let go let go let go.
Merry Christmas everyone!
Photo of the day: Christmas day in Copacabana, Bolivia
All words and images by Alison Louise Armstrong unless otherwise noted.
© Alison Louise Armstrong and Adventures in Wonderland – a pilgrimage of the heart, 2010-2015.
This thing we call life is but a brief candle, but you sure as hell manage to fit a lot in to it! Love the way your post moves from profound realisation to petty discomforts (by which I don’t mean to demean- we need heat, light and water to live) without taking a breath- we are such funny little ground trolls aren’t we? Merry Christmas…keep on making the most of it…
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Thanks – yes, from the profound to petty discomforts, that’s about it. It’s been quite a ride. Funny little ground trolls – what a great way to put it.
Maybe we’ll do better for New Year’s Eve.
Happy Holidays.
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May your holiday season be filled with simple, slow moments that nourish your soul.
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Thank you so much Laurie. Today we had a simple slow day taking a boat ride to Isla Del Sol and climbing some ancient Inca stairs for a wonderful view of the lake and sat in the sun drinking mate coca tea. Definitely soul nourishing – the whole day.
May your holiday season be the same!
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What a crazy Christmas, I thought picking my brother-in-law up at the bus station was an adventure! Happy and safe travels!
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Oh yes it was a crazy Christmas all right. Not what we expected, but we were mostly okay with it. It was so much one darn thing after another that there moments when we just had to laugh. Really all we’d thought to do for Christmas was Skype family in Canada, Sweden, and two places in Australia. We achieved 3 out of four so considering the tortoise-like pace in the internet in Bolivia we did well.
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I guess I shouldn’t complain about my Time Warner internet connection!
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Oh no you really shouldn’t. Here it’s either non-existent or glacial 🙂
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Merry Christmas, Alison & Don! Your stories made me remember some of our travels: me crying in a sordid hotel room in Lucknow, India…. cockroaches in the telephone and hot water brought to the room in a bucket. Ah yes, the highs and lows of travel….. it’s all good though. It’s all worth it, isn’t it? Wishing you two continued adventures and happiness and that continual rearranging of priorities!
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Thanks! It was an . . . um . . . interesting Christmas lol. Ah yes the places you can find in India shudder. No matter – it is so totally all worth it!
And the inner adventures, the rearranging of priorities, are just as exciting as the outer journeys.
Happy Holls to you two, and many blessings for the new year.
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There ought to be some kind of special blessing in The Beatitudes for courageous travellers like you two! I have much to learn from you about getting out of my comfort zone. May your New Year be resplendent with hot running water, cozy beds, safe flights, plenty of room on the hard drive, and inspiring experiences!
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Oh Silk what a wonderful thing to say. I feel quite humbled. And thank you for all those wondrous new year wishes – I’ll take them 🙂
May yours be filled with inspiration and commitment and joy in your writing, and fabulous outlines!
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ack, lots of “opportunities for learning / letting go” for you these last couple of days. Sorry you had to go through that. Also hope you’re done with it and can have a happier Christmas/N.Year’s week now. Hugs to both of you!
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Second time replying – Cyberspace gobbled the first. We’ve loved Bolivia, but not it’s internet speed 🙂
We’re fine. It was just a few blips along the way. I think the latest blip is I made the mistake of eating ice-cream yesterday oops. Thank God for broad-spectrum antibiotics. And so it goes. The New Year will be wonderful!
Hugs right back at you!
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Happy Christmas, Alison! Your brief reflection about mortality gave me pause, and then the ordeals made me simultaneously gasp and smile (Sorry I couldn’t help it). The string of events are more complicated than a movie. Are there other hotels in town that have electricity? Wish you a warm New Year!
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Well my reflection on mortality gave me pause too Jun, and some of the other events had me laughing it was all just so absurd. After the first night we did look for another hotel but couldn’t find anything available. We’re on the road to Puno, Chile today – praying for a warm room there. Where we are not even the public spaces are heated – the breakfast room is freezing too. The ups and downs of travel. But it’s so worth it. I will eventually do some posts on Bolivia – it has been an extraordinary experience, and we can certainly survive being a bit cold for a few days.
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oh my. i remember having that break down as a small boy. people were asking me what was wrong and i couldn’t tell them that i was realizing my own demise so i kept it to myself until my catholic boyhood friend asked. he set me straight with the good news. hahahahaha. it worked. until i grew up. i’ve since come to read some amazing research on the afterlife and what happens. if you are ever wanting a more scientific explanation based on peoples experiences read Thomas Campbells – My Big T.O.E. ,and Robert Monroes trilogy about o of body experiences and research.
Your bolivian adventure is wonderful to read-thanks for posting. Merry Christmas.
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I can’t imaging having such insight as a child. I bet it affected your entire life in both more and less subtle ways. I’ve read several books over the years about NDE’s, and all of Robert Monroe’s books which I absolutely devoured some years ago. Haven’t come across My Big T.O.E. – sounds intriguing. I’ve also had a few out of body experiences, but I knew I’d be coming back into the body. I think the difference was that this time it was possibly imminent, and very personal. A “this is it” kind of situation where I couldn’t just theorize about it any more.
This is the tip of the iceberg about Bolivia – despite the glitches I’ve decsribed above it’s an amazing country and we’ve had some extraordinary experiences which I’ll eventually relate in some travel posts.
Hugs to you, and blessings for the new year.
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I understand the electrical adventure from being in Nepal in December. Rooftop fires are the thing there. So much we take for granted in the west. Internet, hot water, electricity etc etc etc
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Rooftop fires – sounds terrifying. Yes we do take a lot for granted in the west – all the comforts and luxuries. Even after travelling all through SE Asia, including Myanmar, we’ve found Bolivia the most challenging, mainly because of the addition of cold (this hotel only) and altitude.
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Merry Christmas & Happiest/Healthiest New Year!
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Thanks Cindy, and the same to you! We enter Peru today – just as high and just as cold, but hopefully we’ve booked a hotel with some heating. We know how very blessed we are. I can’t imagine living here. There’s a lot I can take in stride, but I don’t do well with being cold. Perhaps I should work on that. Don’s message has been “attitude not altitude!”
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Thank you, Don and Alison. Christmas blessings wished for you both. Peace and Love from Izzy.
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You’re welcome Izzy. I’m glad you’re enjoying the stories of our journey. Christmas and New Year blessings to you too. May you have all you need for the evolution of your soul xox
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Your take home message is rinning double in my ears. Camille and Charles have been singing “Let it go! Let it go!” At the top of their lungs periodically for the last few days. They are not fighting instead this is the refrain from their new favourite Disney song. Also I need to let it go….
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Oh this is too funny – having the 2 little ones singing the message for you lol. Easier said than done I know. It’s funny what we get attached to. I think one of the biggies for my is my computer even though I back up every night.
Oh and Don of course 🙂
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An amazing tale, and yet it sounds like life as usual for the citizens of Copacabana, Bolivia. Thanks for your very entertaining blog, and Merry Christmas.
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Thanks Frank – glad you’re enjoying our tales. Yes, it was life as usual for the people of Copacabana – having a big Christmas celebration in their own unique way. And wonderful for us to be able to watch them. So much joy.
The big difference for us would have been a warm hotel room. Even with the heater they brought us and when the electricity was working, the room never did get warm so we’d get into bed and sit huddled up in our puffy jackets and wooly hats.
We’re now in Puno, Peru – the difference is staggering. A slightly bigger town, still on the shores of Lake Titicaca, and for less money our hotel room is bigger, much warmer, has a full bath, etc. We’ve landed in heaven 🙂
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Ahhhh. What a relief. Well, I look forward to reading your report from Lake Titicaca.
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Merry Christmas you two crazy travelers. My husband recounts the tale of blowing out his hotel’s electricity in Nepal when he tried to use his hair dryer!!!!!!!!!!!
Aren’t we amazing human beings that hide from ourselves our eventual demise? Sigh; the writing on the wall grows stronger as I get older. But….that only strengthens my resolve to live it up every single day from now on. 2014 resolution #1 and there are no other resolutions after that.
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Oh I love the story about the hair dryer. I did that once at a guest house on an island off the coast from Vancouver!
We do hide the end from ourselves don’t we? I think if we really knew we’d live differently, and maybe not always in a way that would be most beneficial for us, or alternatively we’d seize every moment and live more fully.
I like your resolution. Ours is the same only different wording – “life’s too short!”
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The Universe sure likes lobbing challenges to our ability to stay centered doesn’t it?
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Oh doesn’t it just. We’ve decided Bolivia was a test – how centred can you stay with this, and now this, and now this . . . . .
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Your adventures keep getting wilder. Is that possible Alison? Makes life in rural Oregon seem rather tame. But life is to be lived and you two seem to be doing a damn fine job of it. –Curt
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They do get wilder don’t they? 🙂 Life’s too short! has become our motto.
Actually I’ll be pleased if things would settle down for a bit and our warm and spacious (and less expensive) hotel room in Puno is a good start
The first 3 days in Bolivia crossing the high desert, the altiplano, and the salt flats were absolutely amazing and I will write about it all eventually.
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Looking forward to it, Alison. –Curt
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Your life? Tame? You’re The Burning Man King!
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🙂
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That’s a lot for a couple of days!! Glad you can laugh about it now (or at least post about it without sounding like you’re sobbing 🙂 ). Hugs and Merry Christmas to you both.
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Yes it was a very . . . . um . . . . “rich” couple of days. Certainly not sobbing now we’re in a warm hotel 🙂
Hugs and Happy Holidays to you too.
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…Have a Happy New Year! 🙂
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Thank you so much. And the same to you.
Now that we’re in a country with better internet speed I’ll be able to go explore your blog.
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Well written post.
Wish you a very happy new year, Alison & Don.
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Thanks Sreejith, glad you enjoyed it.
And a very happy new year to you too!
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Seems you are not aware of alternate timelines.You go on living in some parallel universe of multiverse.Look up ‘mandela effect’ by Fiona Broome,its a very engrossing site with the biggest live feedback.
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Thanks for your comment Vivek. Yes very aware of alternate timelines, and aware of the infinite number of alternate realities or worlds. Maybe you’d like to check out the Seth books by Jane Roberts, among others, on this subject. Don and I continually question/choose which world we want to live into. But it’s hardly the point. The point is it was necessary for my development to come to terms with the end of *this* apparent reality.
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A late Merry Christmas to you both! Although it made you cry, how wonderful to love the life of Alison so much that you grieve for its end.
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Thanks Felicity, and a late Merry Christmas to you too. I do love this life, and to read your perspective, that I love it so much that I grieve its end, almost had me in tears again. Guess I’m just not ready to be done with it yet. I feel so very lucky and so very blessed, it’s like I’ve hardly begun.
Wishing you many blessings for the new year
Alison
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I can always count on living amazing adventures vicariously here in this beautiful space you have created Alison. Many more adventures for you both is my wish for this coming New Year. Be safe Hugs xoxoxo
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Thank you so much Anyes. I so glad you enjoy the stories of our adventures. We’re certainly planning more.
Blessings
Alison
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Oh my, what an all over the map post, literally and figuratively, from boots to hell. The last mantra, letgoletgoletgo, so true, and don’t know why reading it again here made me laugh. Probably cause I can image the relief you hadn’t deleted your photos. You two amaze me. Wishing you Happy New Year from our hearts to yours.
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Thanks Paulette. This post just had to be written. I don’t think we could have imagined such a series of events! Also I wanted to share that sometimes things go a little haywire, and it’s how we deal with it that’s more important than anything else.
Ah yes, the relief when I realized I hadn’t deleted my photos! Phew!
Wishing you both many blessings for the new year from us both
xoxox
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A bit late for Merry X-mas, but I wish you both a healthy, happy and inclined to travel 2014!
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Thanks Cora, and the same to you! Don’t worry, we’re still very much inclined to travel! And every hotel home since the freezing hell hole has been much better. Puno was deluxe for less money, and now we have a wonderful space in Cusco. Things have definitely improved!
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Alison and Don, Talk about a Christmas to remember! Wow! What’s the saying, “When it rains, it pours!” I don’t have any story that can even compete with that (except that one Christmas we stayed at a very similar hotel, no heat … and at 2am the high school football team arrived. Talk about adding insult to injury.). I’m hoping that your days have gotten better since Christmas.
We have really enjoyed connecting with you this year, and we wish you a very Happy New Year filled with adventure. 🙂 All the best, Terri & James
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Definitely a Christmas to remember! Your freezing hotel with the football team sounds pretty awful. And yes, things have improved very much since then. Warm hotel rooms, adjusting more to the altitude, and some good sleeps and we’re raring to go again.
We also have enjoyed very much connecting with you two this past year. Happy and adventurous New Year to you both.
Cheers
Alison and Don
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and a wonderful 2014 – to the most inspiring people I know! Might be us one day……
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Thank you so much Kev! What a lovely thing to say. Wishing you a wonderful New Year also, and may the stars align for you to roam the globe one day!
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I so enjoyed reading this post – thank you for sharing your wonderful adventures.
Alison, I felt your pain as I read about your tears on the flight.
A few weeks ago I was relocating from Thailand to Russia and the process turned into a bit of a nightmare for a whole lot of reasons. When I finally got on board the flight to Russia, a week later than it was supposed to be, I fell apart. It started just after they served the juice, after take off, and I really had no idea what was going on other than I just started to cry. I sat there quietly sobbing and, to be honest, feeling like a bit of a fool. Fortunately I had the whole row to myself, and so thought I could get myself together before anyone noticed this slightly insane woman sobbing! No such luck, a passing flight attendant saw me and was so kind and solicitous that it just made me cry even more.
I think it was just the relief of finally being on my way, of having overcome a few obstacles and less than pleasant encounters with people that were just not nice people, and knowing that a new adventure was about to begin.
The flight staff were just adorable and went out of their way to cheer me up and I did manage to gather myself back together and plaster a smile on my face – I was determined to fake it until I made it.
Perhaps we just need a wee weep occasionally to make us feel a bit better …..
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I think it’s so true that sometimes we just need to cry out all the dammed-up feelings – I find it’s always so refreshing and there’s a sweet clear space on the other side. I bet you won’t forget that flight in a hurry!
Russia! That’s amazing. How long will you be staying? What are you planning on doing there? Have a fabulous time.
Cheers
Alison
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I agree! I certainly felt better afterwards….
My Bucket List of things to do in Russia is very long, I may be here for a while …. 🙂
I can’t wait to read more about your wonderful adventures, you are both very inspirational
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I know I’m reading and commenting late, Alison, but I have to say that I’ve had that same disk full “other” dilemma???? i’m so impressed how you embraced your mortality. Adya says that there are only two certainties in life: death and change. If we can accept that, then everything is pretty easy. Sounds like you got the death part under control. Happy belated Christmas. {{{Hugs}}} kozo
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Thanks Kozo. I think I’ve got the change thing sorted. I can’t count how many jobs I’ve had, or places I’ve lived. Change is my middle name. The mortality thing – well we’ll see how I do next time I feel my life is threatened. Don and I realize this entire journey is certainly about seeing this wonderful world, but it is really about presence training. Over and over and over – come back to now. Be now. There is nothing else, and none of it is personal. Pain is my great teacher at the moment. The deeper into acceptance and presence I can drop, the less pain I’m in. Or perhaps I should say the less the pain matters. Interesting huh?
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