The Will to Observe and Change
There is a kid in all of us which shines the most whenever the big things in life don’t scare us. It’s the precious few moments when we let go of the stresses of our needs and responsibilities that we are able to freely experience the present and even get silly. These rare moments are much needed breaks from our regular mode of thinking and behaving.
This is Ania who I met on my first day in South East Asia. There is one thing I’ve noticed that hilariously brings out the kid in her—and that’s vines. Whenever she sees a hanging vine in the jungle—especially when it’s one she can sit on—she goes wild with an unstoppable yet cautious desire to play with it.
Despite the pleasures of these instances, I don’t want to suggest we are meant to always look to escape what is unpleasant. The big stressors we face are really more like elephants than the all consuming focus of our mind we easily make them out to be; Sure they’re scary, but inherently very friendly—and what I mean by that is simply that what we face is there to make us grow. Whether we learn the hard way or whatever the other way is, those struggles are overcome by the degree of our will to observe and change.
Ania and I have been traveling together these last two months from Thailand to Cambodia and Vietnam, up into Laos, and now back in Thailand. I thank God to have met an adventurer who is so much fun and altogether inspiring—and on my first day too!
@colourfulania
