During a conversation with Skip, he said “Couchsurfing is self-selective. The people you meet who couchsurf will be much more interesting than your average person.” and I completely agree.
Some people may be hesitant at the idea of staying at a strangers place or joining on a spontaneous travel adventure with someone you barely know…
But that nervousness or distance we put between people, in our minds, is the exact thing that couchsurfing, this generation, is breaking down. CS brings people together for the love of travel, culture and life. Ultimately, connecting people with simple thread of openness and living life. It’s like going back to the essence of being- having trust and living in the present.
I’ve met nothing but amazing folks from couchsurfing- those with open minds and open hearts. So here is the sweetheart, I was staying with in Austin. Her name is Dee and she’s a ray of sunshine and depth.
and here Skip-a-Roo, our fellow CSer. Fantastically funny, insightful and when he chuckles with his deep heart laugh, he spreads bubbles of happiness around.
Sure, Dee took us to great eats and we laughed at words, but what I really appreciated was the heart connection- in which we had conversations about love, relationship dynamics, health and how it affects young people and where we are in life- what we’re ready for- our personal evolution.
Spectacular. Spectacular.
I’mma miss these folks but I know we’ll cross paths soon. Perhaps we’ll come together on my next adventure -travel the world with hugs.
Vanae
To read more of my adventures from my hugging roadtrip, visit Hug America
It’s 2:18am. I just parked my car in front of my house. It’s been a long yet fun night of dancing in SF. I turned off the engine and rush out of the cold towards my front gate.
“Happy Holidays. You got home safe!” a stranger yelled across the street. I looked in that direction in the dark and there she was, a mid 30′s African American women carrying toys in her arms.
“Thank you”, I replied to her, as a reflex. I turned back to unlock my gate when I realized that it was nice that a stranger said that, so I wanted capture this moment. I turned around again and continued, “That’s really sweet of you to say!”.
The young lady walked across the street towards me saying, “We’re sisters. No matter what age, what color. We’re all sisters.” and she was explaining to me that she has been carrying the bear in her arms for her sister, all the way from SF on the bus. She smiled at me and asked if she could share a poem with me. I agreed. A poem that she wrote titled “Black Girl”. It was about rising above hardships and not being a lost black girl, but a FOUND one.
She didn’t ask for anything…just to share that poem with me. And she recited it with conviction. I was moved. When she finished her poem, she wished me a “Happy Holidays” and said to me “I don’t know what this will mean to you, but it’s my Christmas gift to you.” She walked into the night, after I thanked her.
She has no idea, but THAT was the best christmas gift I received this year! This beautiful connecting moment with a stranger. Which really triggered fuzziness inside me and reminds me how we’re all connected as humans. THIS JUST HAPPENED TO ME 15 minutes ago, and I felt compelled to document and share this beautiful moment.
What’s your best Christmas gift? I would love to hear all about it.
Tags:
V's LIFE
Posted on: 28 December 2008
Ever have those moments when right after something happens, a lightbulb goes off? Whether you learn not to do that again or became more aware of yourself? This, my dear, is the process of evolving as a person and part of your self-discovery.
Photo by Beth Armsheimer
Events are constantly cycling…our career changes, new relationships, arguments, joy, loss, and so is self-discovery! It’s important to set time for ‘self discovery’ because YOU are your best investment. I wanted to share this article piece of DailyOm with you:
DailyOM article:
“Inherent to our being born is that we are here to observe, learn, and grow. Accompanying this is a built-in guarantee that there will be mistakes and misadventures along the way. And while it is only natural that we may sometimes become overwhelmed, especially when the lessons keep coming, it is important to remember that learning to understand yourself and your world is an ongoing and active process where the journey is more important than the destination. Every lesson is intended so you can become more of who you are. And as you grow through this self-discovery, you begin to create your own instruction manual. The “how’s” and “why’s” are yours to discover, and part of the beauty of being alive is that these rules are always changing.”
My self-discovery: Though this process is on-going, every year about 1-2 times, I consciously stop my tracks to reset for healthy reflection. I think about:
What makes me happy
How I have evolved
What do I need to take away to be more complete
My priorities: How I want to spend my time
What I want to do to develop myself even more
Re-identify my goals and passions
What was the most recent thing you discovered about yourself?
Vanae’s tip of the dae: “Discover yourself and embrace your life’s lessons, and your instruction manual will create itself.” (shared by DailyOM)
