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Published: December 25th 2008
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T'was the night before Christmas, when all through the house, not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.....
Well that's not strictly true...both dogs are snoring and Mr Jingles the field mouse has once again decided to take up residence under the fridge for Christmas!
Yes you guess it, its Christmas eve....well the early hours of Christmas day now, and i am home safely.
We finally took off in the early hours of Tuesday morning and i arrived at Heathrow yesterday morning.
with only 2 hours of sleep in 48 hours and a cold from hell, i looked like someone had chewed my nose off, and didn’t make the glorious entrance home i had planned! Mum came to meet me at Heathrow, which was wonderful, and i arrived back a Hampton to an over excited welcome from the puppies!
The last 24 hours have been a struggle but i have managed to get everything wrapped and together for Christmas, un-packed and re packed again, and am now looking forward to Christmas with my amazing family.
During my time stranded at Halifax airport i wrote a final entry to my blog.
I would like to share that with you.
Homeward Bound.
82 days ago i left behind life as i knew it and set off to discover the world.
I knew the day i left that things would never be the same again, and that the journey ahead would go some way towards shaping the person i should be.
For as long as i can remember i have wanted to travel the world. To learn of different cultures and beliefs, see the natural wonders of the planet and to have a better understanding of what make the world the way it is today. I longed to experience the energies of the astounding and diverse geography, to open my mind and my heart, and for once, let the journey, not the destination be my focus.
I wanted to spend time with the people i love, the people that don't live a few streets away, but people that have, and continue to touch my life in the most wonderful, inspiring and loving ways.
To surround myself with positive, good-hearted people, and to meet, connect with and learn from new people.
Finally i hoped the journey would have a positive effect on me, leaving me a stronger, wiser, more appreciative,
deeper loving and more focused woman able to enter a new phase in her life with a stronger sense of self.
Its taken 25 flights, 8 boats, 8 buses and 3 trains.
I have spent 4 days in the air (not counting free falling through it!!) 4 days on water (again not counting the time i spent under it!) 24 hours on trains. 24 hours on buses and...wait for it......72 hours waiting at airports!
Aside from the physicalities of traveling from place to place, its the lessons i have learnt that will stay with me for the rest of my life.
I've learnt that;
The experience of seeing the circle of life in action should be the 8th wonder of the world.
The world should stop to watch every sun set.
How insignificant we are and how much we are yet to learn about our own planet.
The saying "Children are our future" is not taken seriously enough
To be wealthy is to be able to wake up in the morning and be happy in all that you chose to do
Followers of all religions can worship side by side without war if they want it badly enough.
To
understand a culture or a way of life one must immerse themselves fully in either or both.
That "Yes" in Thailand can often mean "No"!
That being alone can often be one of the most healing and therapeutic times.... but it can also be the weakest.
That lack of intelligent conversation has a vacuous impact on the soul.
Material things are an extension of our need for proof of hard work.
A well-traveled person earns more respect then one who is yet to venture beyond their own shores.
These are just a few of the many many things i have learned so far.
In the last three months i have experienced all the places i have only ever dreamed of visiting. The diversity of which has left me in a temporary state of shock!
I have seen the sun rise in nearly every continent. Tracked Cheetah and Leopard in the African bush. Watched the sun rise as i took an outdoor shower and competed with monkeys for my food!
Meditated in over 12 different temples, conversed with the Sim Sims of the Water villages and observed the feeding habits of the Oran Utans. Trekked through the rain forests
of Borneo, through Jungles, mountains and sands. Thrown myself out of a plane at 14000 feet, and suffered Nitrogen Narcosis at 30 meters under the ocean!
I've swum with the sharks on the Great Barrier Reef, and watched baby Turtles scuttle down the beach into the midnight sea to begin their own journey. I've sung songs and listened to ancient stories whilst sat round a campfire with the aboriginals out in the Australian bush. I have spent nights lying under the most amazing canopy of stars i have ever seen, but also under the ocean with many things i may not have seen! and come a long way in overcoming certain phobias! I've hung out with the hippies in hammocks, learnt to surf (albeit badly!) and tackled the circus trapeze. Drank wine in the Napa Valley, Champagne in Sanctuary Cove and some very bad rum on Phi Phi Island! I've carried war wounds from Diving, Surfing, Trapeze and high wiring...and i've also been bitten more times that Dracula’s bride!
I have seen about as much bad weather as i can handle including Monsoons, Ice Storms and blizzards!
I have laughed, cried, screamed and had my breath taken away more times
in the last three months than in the last year. I have strengthened the bond with loved ones and discovered bonds with new friends that i hope will last a lifetime. I have discovered a passion for photography, wildlife, travel and flying, all of which need to feature in my life in the future.
I have photographed the "Big 5", Niagara Falls, flown over the Grand Canyon and dived the Great Barrier Reef.
So was i ready to come home?
I think three months is just the right amount of time to get a taste of what’s out there in the world.
I was ready to come home but i suspect it won’t be long before i am planning the next trip!
There is still so much of the world that I want to see. South America, China, Northern Europe and of course, the rest of Africa...the country that harbors my soul!
Its been one hell of a journey both physically and emotionally and I thank you all for sharing it with me.
There have been so many moments of wonder and beauty that i wished I could have shared them with someone, and writing this blog enables me
to share at least some of it with you in my own little way.
So in the early morning of my 28th Birthday i recall something someone said to me before I left.
"I hope you find yourself on your journey"
I believe finding oneself and creating oneself are two very different things, the latter being just as important and know that both have been achieved.......for now. But where does it end? This journey.
It is evident now more than ever, that the last three months are simply the beginning of my journey.
The journey of the rest of my life.
Merry Christmas to you all, I wish you happiness, love and thank you all for your support and friendship.
Have a wonderful 2009... I know I will.
Lucy
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Charlotte
non-member comment
WOW!
Wow....that was a fantastic blog.....they have all been fantastic and I am so glad that you went......for you.......what an amazing journey you've had and I am sure it is the start to many more journeys......brought tears to my eyes when I was reading this last chapter to your journey........you should be a writer lu lu! Love you lots and lots and happy birthday and merry christmas! x x x x x