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The Raja Ampat Islands: Conscious Diving in Raja Ampat
The Raja Ampat islands are by far one of the most breathtaking diving spots that I’ve ever seen. However, what I found even more impressive was that these islands are the world’s most environmentally conscious place to dive. Raja Ampat consists of four major islands in the Indonesian part of Papua, although there are actually 1,500 islands which make up the Raja Ampat islands if you count the uninhabited ones! In the crystal-clear water, I was surrounded by untouched coral gardens in brilliant colors, giant clams, turtles, sharks, and huge manta rays. There are 537 species of coral and about 700 species of animals found in the waters of the Raja Ampat islands.…
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What The Animals in Yala Park, Sri Lanka Taught Me
Sometimes I think that there are no better teachers in life than animals. If we spend the time to really watch them, we can learn so much. I had the opportunity to do just that in Yala Park in Sri Lanka, and this is what I learned. 1. Determination I watched an elephant struggle with a tree branch for 15 minutes just to get to the leaves on the top of a tree. There were plenty of other trees around with leaves that would have been easier to reach, but the elephant refused to move on until it had gotten all the leaves off of this one. It made me…
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Consumerism In America: How Your Stuff Is Killing You
“Armaments, universal debt, and planned obsolescence – those are the three pillars of Western prosperity. If war, waste, and moneylenders were abolished, you’d collapse. And while you people are overconsuming the rest of the world sinks more and more deeply into chronic disaster.” ― Aldous Huxley, Island A lot of people like to talk about the reasons they think America is falling apart. I think the main reason is the amount of attention given to consumerism in America. We have bought into the idea that the media and advertising sells that, “more is better”. Whether it’s the latest technology gadget, skin cream, or dietary supplement, we are constantly buying more and more stuff.…
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I’m Giving Up (And Why That’s A Good Thing!)
Giving Up I’ve only been in Mexico a month, and already, it is changing me. I am giving up. I am giving up a sense of control, the type A personality that I had let cover up my real type B personality of calm, of creativity, of letting things fall where they may. Back in the US, I owned a house, had a full-time job, plus did side social media work, and somewhere fit in traveling and writing this blog. How did I do this? By squeezing in as many activities as I could do in a day. There were no free moments of sitting in the sun to let it…
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Embracing Imperfection: 3 Magical Ways Mexico Is Causing Me To Love My Flaws
I have a confession to make. I am used to be a perfectionist. (OK, I’m working on it). I have come to realize that I am very hard on myself, and that definitely makes me enjoy life a lot less. I guess I started realizing that I needed to give up “perfect” before I even got here. As I was selling everything I owned, I realized just how much stuff I had. And why? Well, most of it was dishes. Why did I have so many plates, shot glasses, martini glasses, brandy snifters, shrimp forks, and salt cellars? Because I used to give “perfect” dinner parties. I wanted every dish…
