CURRENT MISSION

To live simply and love generously. That's about it. I feel like if I can get that stuff right, everything else works out pretty nicely!

ABOUT ME

Gratefully optimistic!
Adventure seeker
Seeker of all things. Seek seek seek!!!!
Energetically energetic!
Open-minded, very!
Seriously silly :)
Caring
Thoughtful
Active (restless)
Loyal
Hmmm never mind, just wait till you meet me :P

PHILOSOPHY

Gratitude! Immense gratitude!

Everything in life is a gift, everything! No matter what happens, have faith and trust that you're always taken care of, always. I do. With faith and gratitude, I'm the happiest I've ever been. It's in my personal opinion that we're all responsible for everything that happens in our lives: good or bad, high or low, good karma, not so good karma ;). That being said, we also have choices. So why not choose high (whatever "high" means to you)?

Life is, hmm...like that glorious mountain that you wish to ascend and each day is a step toward it! Regardless of how small those steps may be, walk them anyway. If you fall, and find yourself still breathing, simply get back up, and walk it again. If life circumstances get in the way, sending you a step backward, doesn't matter, b/c if you're still breathing, then get back up and keep walking, or limp, hop, crawl if you must, but NEVER give up! Go solo if you must, take a break, but NEVER be discouraged! Failure is an option, but so is victory! Your life is a culmination of choices you've made, so choose victory, to ascend, and to actualize your highest human potentials!

LIFE is absolutely beautiful. All of it! Everything!

Material possessions are lessened everyday,
My time spent idolizing material objects quickly dwindled,
I find most genuine and lasting happiness the moment I stop,
ceasing the movements, the incessant thoughts
Imbued in silence, Peace arises,
I find myself in the midst of equanimity, of gratitude
all it took was stopping to turn inward...

Blessings to you, to all!

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

To offer my futon to likeminded travelers, to return the favor that was bestowed upon me when I was a broke traveler :)

Interests

Walking, hiking, backpacking, biking, running, stand-up paddle boarding, kayaking, yoga, reading non-fiction, reading and writing poetry, meditating, eating, cooking, practicing yoga, the ocean, photography, flowers, animals, children, the elderly, volunteering, traveling, hanging out with friends, family, meeting like-minded people, new friends, talking about life,religion, philosophy and the Dharma, receiving handwritten letters or cards, sending handwritten letters or cards, blogging, receiving books with handwritten note inside, long strolls on the beach, on the road, getting lost for when I am lost I find myself. Camping, listening to others tell stories, getting to know people from all walks of life, giving strangers a smile or 2 or 3, laughing, dancing to random beats, meeting fun, kind, generous, & honest people, museums, galleries, art, origami (folding stars, swans, hearts using colored papers), photography, farmers market, FIGS, guitars, piano (don't play but love listening to them), talking, listening, philosophy, nature, sunrises, sunsets, waterfalls, beach, mountains, lakes, HUGS HUGS HUGS, giving and receiving HUGS.... :), staring up in the night sky observing the stars, and the Universe at work, taking jumping photo in every country, town, city I visit :), and LOVE; whether it is the act of LOVE itself or talking about LOVE...

• animals
• arts
• writing
• books
• poetry
• photography
• dancing
• dining
• cooking
• yoga
• running
• walking
• flowers
• reading
• traveling
• blogging
• origami
• piano
• cycling
• hiking
• backpacking
• kayaking
• camping
• religion
• volunteering
• beaches
• lakes
• mountains

Music, Movies, and Books

Movies: anything funny, kungfu, cartoons, and documentaries! Love love documentaries!!!

Music: Everything!!! You should see my iPod ;)

Books: Mostly non-fiction, health & fitness, yoga, nutrition, poetry, Rumi, Khalil Gibran.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Seeing the Dalai Lama in India
I'm not religious at all, but wow, this was an awesome experience! Kindness & love got nothin' to do with religion. :)

If I speak with human tongues and angelic as well, but do not have love, I am a noisy gong, a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy, and, with full knowledge, comprehend all mysteries, if I have faith great enough to move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.

Love is patient; love is kind. Love is not jealous, it does not put on airs, it is not snobbish. Love is never rude, it is not self seeking; it is not prone to anger; neither does it brood over injuries.

Love does not rejoice in what is wrong but rejoices with the truth. There is no limit to love’s forbearance, to its trust, its hope, its power to endure. Love never fails.

Prophecies will cease, tongues will be silent, knowledge will pass away. There are in the end three things that last: faith, hope, and love, and the greatest of these is love.

~ I Corinthians 13 ~

Teach, Learn, Share

Traveling forces you to trust strangers, rely on their kindness, and to lose the familiarity and comfort of your home and friends. You are constantly off balance, and challenged to adjust/readjust to stay balanced. Traveling removes all artificial barriers we've put up for ourselves (colors, religions, economic background, beliefs, etc.), all the things that seem unimportant once you're left to face an obstacle on your own, but you find that you're not on your own because these people, these friends who you've, maybe once, or twice considered them foreigners. These friends are now opening up their homes to you, and extending to you a helping hand.

When traveling, you'll happily realize that nothing is yours except the essential things that we all share – air, sleep, food, dreams, the sea, the sky, the mountains.

Countries I’ve Visited

Cambodia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, India, Japan, Laos, Malaysia, Mexico, Namibia, Peru, Singapore, Spain, Thailand, Turkey, United States, Viet Nam

Countries I’ve Lived In

United States, Viet Nam

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