Even more simplicity

The process of simplifying my life continues. India was the place where I sought out a wise man to reassure me that my yearnings were not selfish fantasies. Then my travels took me to Bali, Thailand, Vietnam and back to Australia then back to Bali again before my dreams started to become a reality.

Painful and long though the whole process proved to be, it was a journey that made me face the truth about my life. To examine the philosophy of Buddhism, of great thinkers, and to really step out of my comfort zone. It resulted in a book that not only looks at the process of travel in the world but also of travel in the inner world of the mind.

What has made us the way we are? What were the years that formed us like? How did our parents live and what was different? These are some of the things that I reflected on. Have you ever thought about these things?

Depression excerpt

"Many people get depressed in their later years as they look back on lives with some regrets and sadness at their lack of skill to deal with some elements of their lives. I have a friend who is depressed in Australia at the moment. I don’t know how to help him.

The teacher is saying that depression is not sadness. It is the dwelling on sadness that is depression. This simple fact is one of the best descriptions of depression I have heard. I wonder why, when we all feel sad sometimes, and choose to dwell the sadness sometimes causing brief periods of depression, some dwell on it continuously, causing major depression. It may be a choice. I know that myself. We can choose what we think about. I think back to my brief period of depression some months ago and I know I made a choice to have a pity party. It became tedious and boring, and made me feel stupid and weak. "

 This excerpt from my book is about clarifying sadness from depression. It gave me a better understanding of minor depression although clinical depression is different.

Trust excerpt

"Trusting those close to me is important. To me it’s the foundation of a good relationship of any kind. How do you trust someone close to you when they have betrayed that trust in the most brutal way? My husband betrayed me, which lead to our separation. Now I couldn’t regain the trust I had once had in him. Oh it hadn’t been an infidelity, at least not that I knew of, but another kind of trust that he had broken.

Trust is sometimes the elephant in the room, because often we don’t completely define it for our friends, our lovers, our families, or colleagues. We sometimes assume that others know what is meant by “I trust you”.

This is the second in a series of excepts from my book. What does trust mean to you?

An excerpt

"I long for a more satisfying life, a simple way of living. My life at the moment seems too complex. There’s always something on my mind about work, my marriage, looking after our many possessions at home.

There is some comfort in the way I live now – job security, a person who cares about me, the safety of Australia. There’s something missing though – peace and simplicity.

Do you ever get a niggling sense of something missing in your life? Something that makes you think, ”What is it I want?”"

This is the first copyright excerpt to be published on my blog. I will be publishing more over the next weeks. I want to provoke your curiosity about my journey from this state of mind and the places my journey took me to - inner and outer journeys

Avdentures

The thing about adventures is they are so unpredictable. You can make plans but you can't plan the outcome.
Whenever I travel alone to places overseas I don't have much of a plan. I like to land somewhere, find a room ans see what I feel like doing the next day. After all if you've never been to a place before how do you know how you are going to respond to it?
Sometimes I would have a few places in mind to visit or someone I wanted to meet. When I arrived though it was a matter of feeling it out.
Sometimes I would know that I was in a place I wanted to explore properly and that it may take several trips and a lot of time. Bali and India were like that. Other times I would know that I just wanted to get the hell out. Saigon comes to mind.
Other adventures took me on an inner journey and although challenging were always worth the effort in order to learn from the experience and grow as a person. They humbled me in many ways too.
How have your journeys contributed to your sense of self, to your understanding of the world and your place in it?
I have found that even the most negative experience can be turned into a positive if I learned something from it.
Recently someone told me that I should spend my nest egg on travel and GET A JOB! What they failed to understand is: that writing is a job. You are self employed when you start out. It's difficult, solitary and requires perseverance, discipline, patience, persistence, skill learning and experience. And the courage to expose oneself in many ways. And to make do with no income for a long time living only on your hard won resources. That's another adventure!

Vietnam and another adventure

Hoi An is a great place to have a relaxed stay in Vietnam. I stayed there in 2009 as I had been there before and wanted to soak up more of the river town. It sits roughly in the middle of the coastal strip in Vietnam and there is a beach not far away.

Heritage listed Chinese shop houses are a special treat and I am fortunate to have a Vietnamese friend who owns one. In my book I describe the town, how we met up again and what we did. The old town is unique and there is something very special that happens there on full moon nights. Islands off the coast provide great snorkeling and diving - as do the islands off Nha Trang.

Vietnam is such a picturesque country: Halong Bay, the mountains near the Chinese border, the towns and rivers. Hanoi in the north provides interesting architecture, an Old Quarter, sophistication in dining and art, in contrast to brash Saigon. And the hill tribe people of the north with their hand embroidered clothing and fabrics are a colorful delight.

Have you been to Vietnam? From there China, Cambodia and Laos are accessible too. All wonderful places to visit.

I'm off to Italy tomorrow. Another adventure awaits.....

Thailand and temples

Thais are rapidly embracing a more westernized life in many areas of Thailand. Not just in Bangkok and other cities. However Buddhism is practised throughout Thailand. Most boys enter a monastery for a period of time. Some stay on and embrace the monastic life to live a simple life making daily alms rounds with their bowls. Villagers believe that they accumulate spiritual merit by offering food to the monks as dawn breaks and the monks eat only what they are given.

Temples are elaborate and the traditional gold and red colour makes them stand out among urban or rural landscapes. Magnificent golden spires reflect a golden light outside at the large temples. Buddha statues positioned around the grounds and inside are plastered with gold leaf. Incense and lotus buds are placed in front of them as the Thai people kneel to pray and perhaps consult a monk who blesses them.

I visited a very different kind of temple in Northern Thailand. In my book I describe it  and how it came into existence.