PANTONE 14-0760 Cyber Yellow
- Jan 2, 2017
- 3 min read
As I perch on the painted front steps leading up to my house, I smile as I see familiar faces pass. A woman with a young son that I’ve seen around Fremantle a handful of times in the last month and a half I’ve called this city home. As the early evening breeze hits my bare legs, my housemate comments on their change in colour in that time. As far as New Year's Eve and New Year's Day goes, mine has been wonderful.
I’m a lover of personal reflection. New Year's Eve has always been special for me; I love taking the time to end my year with self-care and to start it much the same. My favourite question to pose myself is always, “Where was I this time last year?”. Often as the statement, “If you’d told me this time last year that I’d be ______” I don’t hold on to the past or hold regrets for what I did or could have done, but a trip down memory lane; allowing yourself to be nostalgic is wonderful when done with gratitude as a focus. Gratitude for the experiences you’ve had, the people you’ve met and the kindness you’ve received. I’ve started working on a few small acts of self-care in the last year. The first is in the form of a little yellow book. PANTONE 14-0760 Cyber Yellow I bought it in a little shop in Halifax, Nova Scotia when I was there in October last year (ha, last year!!) along with another little book that I’ve been using to fill with bullet points of my favourite things. They range from sentimental material possessions – my blue poncho and my vegan doc martens. To interests – hitchhiking, hula hooping, learning ukulele. To feelings and sensations – writing with silky black pens that make writing easy, eating soup on rainy days, sharing smiles with strangers.
Reading about the things and people I enjoy, love and care for puts me in a mindset of gratitude. I plan on adding to it as often as I can and taking time to reflect when in moments of uncertainty or when feeling down. The second book is a work in progress on reflection. During my travels in North America last year, I was overwhelmed by kindness. I travelled for 6 months and during that time I couch surfed (with the exception of a few nights) for the entire duration and was heavily involved with the community – going to meet ups, meeting locals and fellow travellers. To have been able to travel the way that I travelled and for the length of time that I did, comes down to the kindness of others and their willingness to help. And my willingness to ask. Hitchhiking and couchsurfing taught me innumerable lessons in that. To quote Amanda Palmer. The ukulele wielding front woman of The Dresden Dolls and author of the wonderful ‘Art of Asking’ - “Asking for help with shame says: You have the power over me. Asking for help with condescension says: I have the power over you. But asking for help with gratitude says: We have the power to help each other" and to quote my couchsurfing host in Brandon, Manitoba who was quoting his Dutch grandmother, “No you have, yes you can get”. Essentially, you already have a no. But you could have a yes. If you don’t ask, you’ll always have a no. I love people. I believe in the goodness of others. I love couch surfing and hitchhiking because it is based on acts of kindness and trust. Surrounding myself with acts of kindness; relying so heavily on them whilst travelling changed the way I viewed the world, others and myself. I found myself trusting more, being more open, judging less and in turn being a kinder person myself. My yellow book, is filled with a list of the acts of kindness I experienced during my travels in North America. I’d love to share them with you and reflect on them myself as I begin to recount 2016’s adventures. So far, I’m up to #21 in just the first week I spent in North America. This year, I’m aiming to write more and to share all the ups and downs of living a life on the road. I’m looking forward to sharing my experiences, stories and the lessons I’ve learned. Come along for the ride!
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