Category: travel

Off to Costa Rica!

Sara MoserLeave a comment

Wow, I can’t believe the day has finally arrived! I write from the airplane, high over the IMG_20190323_111614.jpgGulf of Mexico. I’ve got my computer, my audible book, and my crochet project.  The flight isn’t full, so I’ve got the whole row to myself. I sit by the window, glancing out periodically looking for interesting sights, but right now it is just clouds, sky, and water. Flying on an airplane is an amazing adventure in itself!

I’ve been planning this trip since July of 2017. I think it was a facebook ad. Kind of scary how well facebook knows me. Maybe because I’ve done a blog called Looking for the next adventure! Anyway, I’m traveling solo from Houston to San Jose, Costa Rica, to join a group of adventurers with Bamboo, a global volunteer organization. I almost went to Costa Rica a few years ago, and when I saw this opportunity it didn’t take long for me to sign up. The price was right, and it required no planning on my part other than getting a flight!

Robert and I had just moved to the Woodlands, then gone on a meditation retreat to Garrison, New York. We were planning our wedding, and a honeymoon to Florida and Bimini. But I saw this opportunity, put my deposit down, and put it on the back burner. I was working part time from home, and on the verge of beginning another Ayurvedic course of study. Back then, I thought I would be starting my own business in another year.

But as life unfolded, uncertainties evolved into ideas and plans that eventually became certainties. Robert and I did get married in a beautiful ceremony at home surrounded by the love of family and friends. After a 10 day honeymoon, then Christmas, you’d think we’d chill for a bit. Well, that doesn’t really seem to be in my nature.

Much time was and is still dedicated to taking care of Hazel on weekends, and at that time I still had a weekly date with Sebastian and Hudson. But I went on another Heart-Based Meditation retreat in March – to Sedona Mago Retreat Center. Wonderful place, wonderful being with “my peeps” and connecting with a greater consciousness and my higher self.

I was realizing by that time that I didn’t think I really wanted to do what it would take to start a business. I had a website by then, and had even registered a business with the state of Texas, but I just wasn’t “feeling it”, so to speak. I love Ayurveda, but didn’t want to struggle to make it my bread and butter. So I began to look around to see what case management jobs were available, and sent out some applications. As I weighed the possibilities, I decided that if I got an offer I liked, I would take it.

In June, that is exactly what happened. There wasn’t any hesitation about accepting a good paying job with good benefits in a location that was only a 15 minute drive away and I didn’t have to get on the freeway! I started working for Memorial Hermann Hospital System in August (after taking a road trip with Robert to Iowa in July), and 7 months into the job it still feels like the right move.

When I quit my full-time job in 2016, I had some ideas and dreams and pursued a lot of different angles, but I always know that uncertainty reigns until something actually happens.

Like being on this airplane right now. I started making plans and saving money and eventually bought the ticket. The last month I’ve had fun figuring out how to travel light, ordering some helpful items from Amazon, and getting more and more excited about the whole idea. But really, until I got on the airplane, it was an uncertainty. A life circumstance could have popped up that would cause me to turn my steps away from all this to deal with something that in that moment was more important. Fortunately, that didn’t happen!

IMG_20190323_062805-1.jpgI have gotten away from writing here, although I think about it often. I used it to chronicle my solo travels to Iowa and Montana back in 2015, so I’m gonna give it a go. I have no idea what the wifi will be like or how much time I will have to write – an uncertainty that comes with having someone else plan! But I will definitely write, take lots of pictures, and keep dreaming. I will post as I can, although much of my time the next week will be invested in helping preserve the sea turtle habitat. And hopefully making a few new friends along the way!

 

 

On flying and overcoming fear

Sara Moser5 Comments

I write from 30,000 feet. Or however high up this airplane is.

I used to be afraid of getting on an airplane. I felt like I had some measure of control, as long as I was on the ground. But to fly, so high above the earth, just riding along as a passenger, putting my trust in airplane mechanics and a pilot I knew nothing about — this was not something that Fear would let me do.

I flew once as a toddler, a trip I don’t remember, and once as a young adult with 3 small children, a 45 minute trip from Dallas to Houston under great duress. I was terrified during the entire flight.

So I traveled on the ground. As a child I was taken on wonderful camping vacations, and the trips I took my own children on were made in a car. In my 40’s, I took up motorcycle riding with my second husband, and learned to ride my own, because I needed to be in control. (as if riding a motorcycle is ever really safe!)  But to fly in an airplane was something I still resisted, in spite of professing in other areas that “God is in control”!

Ten years ago, when I was only 50, I was told by the company I worked for that I was being sent on a business trip. I wasn’t happy about it, and prayed fervently that the plane would stay aloft. I was surprised that the worse thing about the experience was that turbulence was like riding in a jeep on a bumpy road. And God apparently answered my prayers, because I got safely to my destination and home again.

Not too long after that, my oldest daughter moved to Chicago to attend college. And I flew again. Several times for visits, and later for her graduation. And my company sent me on another business trip. I felt like I had entered the space age at last!  But I still fought my fears every time I got on the plane. Then, the opportunity to take a trip to Honduras came my way. It was one of those heart things where you know you just gotta go! This trip would involve two flights over large bodies of water. At least I was well trained from my previous flights on what to do in case of a “water evacuation.”

So I went, my youngest daughter accompanying me. I prayed all the time, the desperate sort of prayer – “don’t let me die in a plane crash!”  When we got to Honduras and had to take a five hour bus trip through the mountains at night, in an old bus at the mercy of a driver who didn’t want to be late, more fear-based prayers were raised to the heavens. Again, God must have heard me, because here I am.

Something happened on that trip. I think that in deciding TO go I finally LET go, and instead of fighting with the fear I acknowledged it and went on anyway. In doing so, Fear lost its power.

20150605_213830Since that trip, I have flown countless times. And my ideas about God and prayers and fear and giving up control have changed and evolved. I experience the love and protection of God in a much more loving and less fearful way. I still don’t love flying, but I don’t hate it either! I  have seen much more of the world than I could ever have traveling on the ground.

Now, when Fear comes to visit, I say hello. And then politely tell it to go sit somewhere else. “I’ll call you when I need you” I say. And I see a bigger world.

Journey

Sara MoserLeave a comment

I passed my final test!

Not that I expected otherwise. It is always a relief to get it over with, to get it done.

For the last 15 months I have been immersed in my studies to become an Ayurvedic Practiioner. From the beginning, I have loved it – in fact, I have found my passion!  I have also discovered a lot about my self through this study. I had so many doubts and fears, but as I moved through and past them, my confidence in my own abilities increased and the fear decreased. Making the decision to pursue this course was one of the great turning points in my life.

I’ve learned how to detect subtle changes in a person’s physiology through feeling the pulse. I’ve learned a little bit about Jyotish astrology. I’ve learned a great deal about how making simple changes in one’s lifestyle and diet can lead to better health.  I’ve also learned how difficult it is for people to change their habits, and that commitment to change is the most important component in attaining better health.

So here I sit, at 4 in the morning, waiting for my plane. I will be joining my teachers and classmates for the final Clinical Intensive, the end of the course and the beginning of another new phase of my life. I am sure that this intensive, even more than the last, will be a turning point for me, an affirmation that this journey we call life can be meaningful, purposeful, healthy and exciting.

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Snow in April and other stories

Sara MoserLeave a comment

As I mentioned in my last post, I traveled to Maine last week.

I was expecting spring weather, flowers blooming – but oops! The difference in latitude could definitely be seen and felt! I left the balmy almost 80 degrees of my Texas Gulf Coast home, where flowers were blooming, and experienced 4 days of snow and ice!

It was just a “light dusting” to the locals, but if we’d gotten that much snow at home, it would have shut down the schools and a good many businesses. But as those of you who live in those climes know, it is just another ordinary day of life in the north. So now I’ve got DRIVING IN SNOW and WALKING CAREFULLY ON ICY SIDEWALKS on my list of new wp-1460251451251.jpegexperiences that I don’t particularly want to repeat. The thing about snow is, it makes ugly beautiful. All the trees looked pretty dead. Add snow, and voila, a picture postcard appears.

I stayed in a bedroom at the home of Michael and Diane, found through airbnb as usual. They were great hosts, my bed was really comfortable, and their dogs were awesome. It was way better (and cheaper) than staying in a hotel.

The snow and ice were followed by rain on my day of departure from Portland. The temperature warmed to the lower 50’s and it almost seemed like a Houston winter. I meandered down the coast a bit, then turned inland through New Hampshire and down to Northampton, Massachusetts to spend a few hours with my son who lives there. In spite of the rain, I enjoyed the drive, staying off the main roads as much as possible, going through the mountains, and appreciating the old architecture in the small towns along the way.

Northampton is in a beautiful part of the country, nestled along the west bank of the Connecticut River. I enjoyed my visit with my son (22 years old, and works as an early morning baker), and spent the night in an upstairs bedroom of a cool old house I found on airbnb. wp-1460255086849.jpegIn the morning, after a latte and zucchini oatmeal muffin at the Tart Baking Company,  I chose Route 5  instead of the interstate and fell in love with the beauty of my surroundings. The road runs parallel to the river for a bit, and I could imagine how it must look in the fall when the colors of the trees are changing in their full glory. It was the most beautiful place I drove through, and I’d like to return in October!

I had decided, since my flight from Boston didn’t leave until 5:30, that I would go to Rhode Island, since it was the only New England state I hadn’t visited. I found a vegetarian restaurant called the Garden Grille Cafe in Pawtucket, and I wasn’t disappointed. My lunch was a quesadilla filled with roasted butternut squash, black beans, avocado, and monterrey jack cheese. Best meal the whole trip!  Before I headed to the Boston airport, I visited the Seekonk River and communed with the ducks for a while.

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I was overcome with gratefulness for much of my time on the road, in spite of the less than desirable weather. I have been able to travel to so many beautiful places, and there are more to come. I have been enriched by the people I’ve met along the way. Life is good!

Life after vacation

Sara MoserLeave a comment

I had the best vacation ever. Three weeks of traveling through Massachusetts, Maine, and Nova Scotia with a great guy + seeing beautiful scenery + staying in interesting places + meeting interesting people = heaven on earth!

I kept thinking I would blog about it like I did earlier in the year, but since we were on the road alot, and out of the country, internet was sometimes iffy so I just wrote longhand in my journal and took a lot of pictures. If you want to see them, here is a link to the google album.

Robert bought me a book at the airport on the way home. I wasn’t sure I would like it, but turns out it is really speaking to me. The book is Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert. I read more than half on the trip home. Mostly what I am taking away from it is that if a person decides to pursue a life of creativity, there will always be uncertainty. And that if I pursue perfectionism, I will never be happy. Just write, or paint, or knit, or… whatever you feel like doing. And don’t fret about the outcome. Do it if you love it, and if you don’t love it, don’t do it.

I think that’s great advice. I have written quite a bit just for myself since I came home. I put paint to canvas – actually I want to try to paint some version of the beauty that I saw on my trip. I painted over a painting that I had done in one of those paint with wine classes.  So far, this is what I have: wpid-wp-1446310034715.jpeg

This is what I’d like to paint:
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I imagine I’ll end up with some sort of abstract, which is what I’m usually most happy with. The great thing about paint is that you can paint over it!

The other thing I’m taking from the book is that you are never too old to learn something new. The author shared a story about a 90 year old woman she’d met who has spent the last 10 years learning about ancient Mesopotamia and is now considered an expert! Very encouraging for me as I continue to pursue my study of ayurveda. I was doing quite a bit of moaning about it, but no more! I am a youngster compared to her!

The first few days back at work I felt very zen. My mind was clear and full of memories of beauty, like the above picture from Maine. It’s been two weeks now, and the last few days were so busy that I lost some of that. But I am working on practicing mindfulness, which is really just being aware of what I am doing when I am doing it. I have found inspiration in this area through the writings of Thich Nhat Hanh.

While we were traveling, we ate, drank, and were merry, so when we got home we decided to get back in shape with the Hot Belly Diet. I had felt rather sluggish but within a few days regained my usual vigor. I am also walking more and am using a couple of those 30 day app challenges – one for the arms and the other for the butt! The ones I chose are by Teer, and are very doable. I tried  a different one but it had jumping jacks and side planks so I quickly deleted it. Gotta be realistic.

So life goes on, with its joys and sorrows. Today it is raining, tomorrow the sun will come out. I work to feed the body and create to feed the soul.

What will the next adventure be?  I’m already speculating.