I'm about to give you a look inside my brain while I travel through SE Asia in search of healing, connection + inspiration...
As a writer, I often find myself constructing chapters of my memoirs in the space between my ears - narrating my life like an enlightened Dexter, who's apparently found himself in Bali... with a much better wardrobe and a thirst for yoga > blood. While I'm not certain what occupies the minds of 'normal' folks as they take in their surroundings, I'd like to believe that despite what I'm about to say, I'm not holding the record for self-centered musings... at the very least, my ex will always hold that title over me.
I’ve written and rewritten my very own Ted Talk in my head since I was a child. Speech has become my conduit for transforming challenging experiences into narratives that hold meaning, not just for myself, but for others as well. Nothing can get me through a tough workout like imagining myself on stage as a younger, hotter, Brené Brown. And while this might be, and surely is, eye-rolling-ly narcissistic, this exercise allows me to sketch meaningful lines across my life, and in doing so, deepen my comprehension of both life and self.
As I navigate a new corner of the globe, I've decided to put pen to paper, document my travels and hopefully entertain someone other than myself.
Now let me be clear, this isn't a travel blog. My goal isn't to share my opinions on where you should go and what you should do. I won't be providing a play-by-play documenting my every move. Rather, I'll share excerpts from my journal as a means of cementing my transformation in the coming months.
If my previous travels have taught me anything, it's that new experiences always seem to jostle my commitment to existing beliefs. So even if my daily inner narrative lacks merit, at the very least, I’ll have a way to look back at my 33-year-old self and laugh at how charmingly young and naive I was - although hopefully smart and witty and perhaps even, insightful? Hopefully...
…Or, who knows, perhaps I'll scrap the whole thing and decide that creating to-do lists in my head is a far more productive way of spending my time than imagining myself a pint-sized Tony Robbins… If that’s what 'normal' people do in their heads all day.
It sounds a bit dull though, doesn't it?