As my mother used to say: "wherever you go, there you are." Simple but true. You – your spirit, your being and, yes, even your stories – are with you no matter where your physical being happens to be.

But, what happens when we forget this? And our physical being is "showing up" in places that we don't really like or in situations that are truly challenging? And we ask, "Why is this happening TO me?" Well, e>v asks you to remember that everything that happens "out there" (physical world) is a reflection of what's happening "in here" (spiritual world). So, for today: what if we all commit to putting our inner house in order and watch what happens right outside the front door... Could be pretty rockin' .... 

Or, as Esther Hicks says, "Spirit versus Material are not the choices. Everything about this physical manifestational experience is spiritual. It is all the end product of spirit. You have nothing to prove. Be the (e>v adds: "best") spiritual you and create like a physical fiend." 

"(Your life) is about realization, not about changing anything. The world is as you perceive it to be. For me, clarity is a word for beauty. It's what I am. And when I'm clear, I see only beauty. Nothing else is possible. I am mind perceiving my thoughts, and everything unfolds from that, as if it were a new solar system pouring itself out in its delight. If I'm not clear, then I'm going to project all my craziness out onto the world, as the world, and I'll perceive a crazy world and think that it is the problem. We've been working on the projected image for thousands of years and not on the projector. That's why life seems to be chaotic ... But when you meet your thoughts with understanding, the world changes. It has to change, because the projector of the entire world is you. You're it!" -Byron Katie, Loving What Is

Bit of a break in travel stories to bring you this bit of poetic goodness from Persian poet Hafiz:

The words guru, swami, super swami, master,
teacher, yogi, murshid, priest -- most of those
sporting such a title are just peacocks.

The litmus test is to hold them upside down
over a cliff for a few hours. If they don't wet
their pants ... maybe you found a real one.



And, maybe you don't need to look outside of you...regardless of whether or not you'd wet your pants.

Trip out west, part II:

So, the plan was for Jan to pick me up in Spokane where we'd attend a show with her 8-year-old son, Gabe, and then swing back to her home in Montana to regroup before heading out on the road. The show was great, to be sure, and was especially fun to see through the eyes of a little boy--awe-struck and out-of-his gourd excited.

Back at Jan's place in the Mission Mountains, we were out on her deck late in the evening taking in the clear Montana sky and wading through where we'd been over the past few months on our respective journeys. Lots of to dos. Lots of head down, get-'er-done energy. Lots of challenge. Lots of raw, emotional stuff.

I mentioned to my friend that what I really wanted to return to is the sense that there is so much more out there than have-tos and obligations.  Somewhere along the way that had been overshadowed.  I threw my head back, spread my arms wide and declared, "The world is full of POSSIBILITIES!" At that moment, a shooting star blazed through the sky right over our heads. No. Lie. Jan and I stared at one another with ever widening grins creeping across our faces. Not sure we could have asked for a more potent signal from the universe.

The beautiful thing: that star caused both of us to shift; it changed our focus. Light and buoyant, open to possibility, we were ready to hit the road.

This is an entry that's both long past due and right on time as well, I suppose.

Thanks to e>volutionista Molly G. for sharing her notes from the road:

I was surprised on my trip to Europe this summer when some of my "baggage" starting popping up. I honestly wasn't expecting it to--even though the e>v guide had warned me that it might. What was great was that I felt prepared to handle it. I paid attention to what was going on around me and internally and had a greater understanding as to what was causing it to show up. I challenged myself by asking if I needed it.  When I decided that I didn't, I sent that extra baggage packing!  It was a daily exercise, but at least I had an action plan in place to handle it.
 
The prep section of the e>v guide was also helpful in that it helped me set the tone I wanted for my vacation. It got me thinking in advance about things I wanted to notice, energy I wanted to tap into, how I wanted to "be", and what I wanted to gain. I still think about a moment I had on the trip when I told myself, "You have to remember this when you are back home and settled into your routine!"  And it worked. I think about that moment every day and invite it to influence my thoughts and behaviors now that I am home. I am consciously choosing to allow that moment to affect my future and that's a powerful feeling.


How has e>v shown up in your travels?  What have you done differently as a result?  Step on in to the conversation and share your adventures in a comment or, if you'd like to be a guest poster as Molly was, shoot us your story: info@evolutionthroughvacation.com and see your evolution in print!

Come on! Sing along in your head ... this simple, wonderful, glorious little ditty......

I think I'm going to make it my song of the WEEKEND as I head to a cabin in Wisconsin, the e>v e-guide in tow.... Freedom, here I COME!!!

-Elissa



If You Want To Sing Out, Sing Out
by Cat Stevens

Well, if you want to sing out, sing out
And if you want to be free, be free
cause theres a million things to be
You know that there are

And if you want to live high, live high
And if you want to live low, live low
cause theres a million ways to go
You know that there are

Chorus:
You can do what you want
The opportunitys on
And if you can find a new way
You can do it today
You can make it all true
And you can make it undo
You see ah ah ah
Its easy ah ah ah
You only need to know

Well if you want to say yes, say yes
And if you want to say no, say no
cause theres a million ways to go
You know that there are

And if you want to be me, be me
And if you want to be you, be you
cause theres a million things to do
You know that there are

Chorus
Well, if you want to sing out, sing out
And if you want to be free, be free
cause theres a million things to be
You know that there are
You know that there are
You know that there are
You know that there are
You know that there are

Hi all ... Elissa here. And, as clichéd as it sounds, I'm having one of those "today is the first day of the rest of your life" sort of days.

You know, suddenly things feel all fresh and new ... and your cup of tea tastes crisper ... and the sun seems shinier ... and you look around at this glorious place called earth and you just want to EXPLORE.

You just want to bust out the door and explore and meet and greet and skip through the streets yelling to people you've never met, "Come out of your holes! We're alive! Let's have an adventure!"

And so you would ... You'd all come out and we'd meet in the street and we'd all go to the train station and choose a random destination by each asking a stranger where they're going, then all the destinations go in a hat and we'd draw one and -- BAM!  -- that's our destination. Then, we'd settle in our seats and drink champagne as we watch the world whiz by for three days and we'd share stories about our lives and loves and what we believe and what we're willing to unbelieve and then... we'd arrive. And we'd go straight to the best hotel and say: we need your entire top floor because we're on an adventure. And they'd say, "Well, absolutely." and they would give us their best rooms for free because suddenly we're like this flash mob art group that's traveling the world, being followed by all major networks and newsmagazines because we were living each day as if it really was the first day of the rest of our lives....

And then ... what happens next?