Remember that there's always enough, a good mantra to start the year with...

I had a wee bit of an outing, you could say at the beginning of the week to visit my born into extended family in Haverhill, Massachusetts.  I went with my aunt & uncle to visit my great uncle who is in his mid 90s. It’s quite the milestone actually. However, I didn’t realize that I would be the subject of conversation with the Polish relatives. Another relative asked me “Chrissy, what exactly do you call yourself?” and I responded with, “Oh, I’m a wanderlust soul”, but I really wanted to say, “ Hello, labels don’t work with me one bit, do you get it? Apparently not!” They were laughing cos honestly, deep down they didn’t get the concept of what exactly I was trying to say. As a human spirit with quite the freespirit energy, I feel that I don’t have to explain myself to people who just keep on questing me. Honestly they will not understand it cos they think with their mind, not their heart. I will admit that it was nice to know that I am talked about & especially that I am known as the traveler in the family. I guess I might have picked some of it up from my great uncle, but honestly I know that I have always been one in all of my lifetimes.

Dobra Tea, Portland, Maine

Let’s just say that I dance to my own beat, as the inner hippie child that I am. Oh yes, mother earth your beautiful. I guess you could say that travelers don’t have to ask other travelers if they are one, but apparently others who are not one don’t understand. Nor will understand about the creative process of going down the rabbit hole to get to the end of it to see the beauty of the inner work & to free yourself from your ego. Funny, I later realized what my father has been trying to explain to me for sometime on why my grandfather left Massachusetts & moved to Maine. The more open you get the more that things become clearer to see with little bits of “ah’s moments” along the way.

I can tell you that from meeting relatives as an adult is quite the challenge cos in their mind they still think of you as when you were a child. I seriously saw jaws dropped when I started to naturalized & told some travel tales. I told the family about how pristine the ecosystem is in Antarctica, the day that I kissed a gray whale next to National Geographic Photographer Flip Nicklin, where I have sailed & how closed I was to penguins to name a few of my experiences. I guess that they were not expected to meet a young Jacques-Yves Cousteau type who is related to them. I even had another cousin bragging about how many photos I actually shot in Antarctica. I will admit that I was overwhelmed there for a lot of reasons. I did enjoy showing my great uncle photos of me from my travels on my iPhone.  Apparently, I am the one who he talks about the most. I just had a vibe to go & spend some time with him before I set off again. I was blessed to spend the time with him.

Since it’s the start of the New Year, I feel that I actually have a clean slate on what to do with my life you could say. I just dance to my own beat, following my heart & not taking a job just to take it. I would rather be happy from the inside out than to take a job just to take it & have it for the label. I usually respond with annoying question of “what’s next?” with “oh, I’m just seeing where it takes me.” It seems that family or anyone else who doesn’t understand the concept of really to work on a body, mind, spirit holistic approach to life just doesn’t want to see the light at the end of the rabbit hole. I walk a much different path than most, I will say.  I have been able to throw away all kinds of false beliefs that were once holding me back. As an artist it’s very important to work on yourself rather than getting pressure from others on what to do. I guess some of it comes from trusting your intuition & to be open to change.

Lately I have been chilling out & seeing what other beautiful things come my way. I did have an outing with my aunt & her niece to Portland, Maine yesterday. Honestly, I needed a play date with everything that I have doing. Yes, to really take on the self responsibility to work on you can be a wee bit exhausting. I ended up at the Nickelodeon Cinema  to see Philomena. Let’s just say that I found it very disturbing how the Irish Catholic Church was during the 1950’s. I enjoyed the movie quite a bit, but I did notice that there were some beautiful messages of life in it. Funny, I could pick up on all of the Irishness in the film from my Irish American Heritage. I must be really growing if I could really see & understand what the act of forgiveness means. It was a beautiful story. After the cinema we ended up to Dobra Tea, a charming tearoom & shop at 151 Middle Street in the heart of the Old Port. I loved it there. I got chatting with my aunt on how peaceful & full of good energy the place was. My aunt’s niece was awesome at explaining the menu & ordering process to us. I couldn’t believe how thick the menu was; it looked like a bible for tea. Any type of tea you could think of was in it with a nice paragraph write up about it as well. They do have a lovely light fare menu filled with vegan, gluten free, vegetarian, & desserts. I enjoyed my time there very much you could say. Honestly, it reminded me of being back in Matsue, Japan for some reason. I had a nice small pot of genmaicha matcha, snacked on some superb snacks & enjoying the company of whom I was with. Overall it was what my soul needed.

Let’s just say that that I got to keep on dancing to my own beat to seek what is calling me in the New Year. I can honestly say that I am working more with the art of letting go & forgiveness than anything else. Those are the jewels of the secret recipe to live life along with not forgetting the things your love, to answer your call & to be of service to others. Embracing abundance with all of the little miracles of the day is a beautiful thing. Go to be positive from the inside out. I got to be true to my soul & not to have others take that away from me. So I’m just going to keep on being me the best way that I do know how to be me.

I could pick many songs that could sum up how I reel right now, but something about the Smiths “Ask” is speaking my language:

Shyness is nice, and
Shyness can stop you
From doing all the things in life
You'd like to

Shyness is nice, and
Shyness can stop you
From doing all the things in life
You'd like to

So, if there's something you'd like to try
If there's something you'd like to try
ASK ME - I WON'T SAY "NO" - HOW COULD I?

Coyness is nice, and
Coyness can stop you
From saying all the things in
Life you'd like to

So, if there's something you'd like to try
If there's something you'd like to try
ASK ME - I WON'T SAY "NO" - HOW COULD I?

Spending warm Summer days indoors
Writing frightening verse
To a buck-toothed girl in Luxembourg

ASK ME, ASK ME, ASK ME
ASK ME, ASK ME, ASK ME

Because if it's not Love
Then it's the Bomb, the Bomb, the Bomb, the Bomb, the Bomb, the Bomb, the Bomb
That will bring us together

Nature is a language - can't you read?
Nature is a language - can't you read?

SO... ASK ME, ASK ME, ASK ME
ASK ME, ASK ME, ASK ME

Because if it's not Love
Then it's the Bomb, the Bomb, the Bomb, the Bomb, the Bomb, the Bomb, the Bomb
That will bring us together

If it's not Love
Then it's the Bomb
Then it's the Bomb
That will bring us together

SO... ASK ME, ASK ME, ASK ME
ASK ME, ASK ME, ASK ME
Oh, la...

Seek out & keep on following your heart! There’s nothing wrong with taking some time, listing to the signs, following your calling, being still & letting nature speak to you. Keep on dancing!