There’s nothing like a good adventure or a trip to someplace new to help revive the spirit and spark some inspiration. And then there’s that feeling of coming home: Sleeping in your own bed, returning to your own rituals & routines, dropping back into the flow of everyday life.
My recent month of traveling was filled with a lot of surfing and epic adventures, as well as a lot of downtime for introspection.
And I found it pretty interesting how the seemingly ‘simple’ act of slowing down can be such a challenging thing to do! During said downtime, my inner dialogue was preaching productivity, questioning my worthiness, and claiming laziness… Ughhh, so deeply engrained! But I guess like most things – rest, relaxation, shifting our belief system – all take practice. Quieting that harsh inner voice takes some rewiring through repetition and time.
But what I did notice, now more than ever, is that the downtime – especially if used intentionally – is like nourishment that recharges the entire system: Body, mind, and soul. Similar to adventures and travel, the process of slowing down offers space to pay attention and tune in. The intentional rest & relaxation offers space to restore and recalibrate.
As I mentioned, traveling, for me at least, always tends to bring with it bursts of inspiration and creativity and a heightened sense of connection to myself & the world around me. The challenge tends to be carrying this inspiration and connectivity with me as I begin treading down those familiar roads of routine that make up the map of regular, everyday living.
I admittedly first heard this Zen Buddhist saying from the 1998 Hollywood surf film “In God's Hands" – which I was obsessed with as a grom (and low-key still am) – and now as a yoga student and teacher, it's stayed with me, maybe just landing a little differently now:
Before enlightenment; chop wood, carry water. After enlightenment; chop wood, carry water.
A teaching that’s found in many cultures, religions, and spiritual practices around the world: The cliché-yet-all-true saying that life is “more about the journey and less about the destination;” The reminder that it's the small, routine, everyday steps that cover the distance, and that nothing can just be manifested, but through faith, consistency, dedication, and love, darn near anything can be done.
And even when we feel like we're so lost, so off track, so far away from where we need to be, this teaching asks us to acknowledge that we are exactly where we are supposed to be right now and to trust that this path – this practice – is, in its own time, leading us to where we need to go.
Like the overarching lesson of the hero's journey: We already have everything we need. And we always have. The greatness – the wisdom to know – has been within us all along.
And you don't have to go anywhere. And it doesn't require traveling around the world. You, myself, we all, carry this wisdom. We carry this ‘home’ with us everywhere we go. It's like our inner compass, a true north that will never guide us astray. And even when we mull over or worry this path might be the wrong one, it almost never is. It teaches us what we need to know in order to move forward. Plus, we always have the choice to slow down in order to refuel, recalibrate, and reroute, whenever need be.
Keep showing up.