_DSC0050First thing this morning Kaari and I held a little ceremony to allow us to move into this trip with more clarity. We wrote down what we want to let go of this trip and what we want to carry with us. I’ve done this sort of thing before at the Wilderness school I went to from the age of 9 until I was 17. I always found that it helped me to feel more fully present with my time on the trip.

We picked one item from our belongings to leave behind symbolically and we ate a bit of zucchini bread that Kaari had brought as a snack for the flight. We used the bread as a symbol of things we want to carry with us as it would become a part of us. It was a simple way for me to contemplate why I’m here and how I want to move forward. I’ve often had the experience that I get out of something what I put into it, if I go into a trip without an idea of what I’m trying to do it tends to be less impactful than the trips  I go into wanting something out of it.

I let go of being so cynical, as I’ve grown up many things have turned my expectations lower and lower until expecting bad things prevents some good things from being a part of my life.

I am taking with me a desire to be more compassionate of the people around me. I care a lot but its still easy for me to be negative about people. I want to use this trip as an opportunity to open myself up to connecting with the world and the people around me. I think its a piece of life that I would really benefit from.

I want a lot from this trip and I’m going to mine it for every scrap of growth I can.