Quotes by Gina Greenlee

What would happen if, once back home, I stayed open to possibilities rather than attach to specific outcomes? What if I dreaded no potential storms? Ruminated over no past transgression? I knew how. For decades the reflex kicked in with each plane ride. The more I pondered these questions – How could I cultivate the habit of taking life as it comes? How can I immerse myself in living, like I’m on vacation on all the time, without boarding a plane or crossing a border? – the more I recognized the arbitrariness of the dichotomy between life and travel.

Once back home I would adjust my lens to the resolution through which I perceived the people and provinces of the globe. My daily commute, the supermarket check out line, neighborhood walks, pedestrian tasks of any job would inspire me as much as the stir of white linen canopies in Venice’s Piazza San Marco; the velvety dunes of the eastern Sahara; Bali’s kaleidoscope of color; my Vietnamese sisters.

The answer is neither job, nor paycheck; it is authentic, holistic work born from states of awareness and being. Through the coalescence of joy, wonder, enthusiasm, appreciation, experimentation, perpetual curiosity, exploring new avenues, welcoming surprise and wandering, I have begun the next leg of my journey; I have brought the spirit of the traveler home.

In these pages, traveling “solo” does not necessarily mean “alone.” The absence of other people often suggests regretful isolation. “Solo” by contrast, is a willful decision to be the architect of our own experience.

The gift of solo moments is that they are wholly ours. On or off the road, solo moments connect us inward to ourselves with heightened clarity and insight. They also direct our energies out into the world, magnetizing us to new people and experiences we may not have encountered under any other circumstance.

Embrace those parts of yourself that youve skillfully avoided until now. Thats your true adventure.

Take time for yourself. If you feel guilty eating lunch away from yourdesk or lingering in a bath, let the deprogramming begin.

Let your body move. It will give voice to a language that can heal.

When your safety is in question follow your intuition. It will help you balance along the precipice between vulnerability and adventure.

Call it walking meditation or a neighborhood stroll; by whatever namesuits you, rediscover the art of meandering.

Is there a place you can go to break away for a little while? If you havent yet built your tree house, its never too late to start.

Adventure, opportunity and reward extend beyond our field of vision, and are made known to us only when we test our wings.

Experience is a master teacher, even when it’s not our own.

Few experiences are more satisfying than becoming someone we always imagined we could be.

If you can’t remember when you last basked in your own glow, it means you’re overdue.

At times, productivity means doing nothing at all.

The next time someone tries to make you feel bad about feeling good,respond by continuing to live well.

Life lessons are not journeys traveled in straight lines but are crossroadsformed years and miles apart.

Distinguish between getting lost and losing your way. The first is a shift in direction. The second is the absence of perspective. Cultivate perspective and you will be able to steer home.

What we seek when we wander usually leads us back home.