Luang Prabang

The Mighty Mekong

Swathed in scarves and hoods, toes tucked up under blankets and fingers thawing between sips of coffee, we watch the banks of the Mekong roll by. Anxious for the sun to come to the other side of our boat so we can start shedding layers. Faces lean on the railings, eyes closed to better soak up the sun with. Cows amble down the steep slopes to meet the water. Women go about the laborious task of providing nourishment for the day. They work in groups, sitting on their haunches and swirl flat baskets around in the water, straing the sediment away to reveal what gifts the river will give them today. Our boat putts along at a brisk walk. Any faster and certainly we will meet the rocks laying just below the surface. Faster boats go by with white knuckled passengers in helmets and life jackets on. Perhaps with a tinge of regret for feeling the need to 'get there faster'.

For two days we have been just another set of eyes in a mass of travelers. All anxious to catch a glimpse of Laos life. Pens scribble away in journals and authors look up every once in a while, reflective on the journey at hand. Or perhaps the one to come... It's a discipline sometimes to stay present. A constant meditation on the moment.

Between the steady rotations of iPod, journal, guidebook, food and spacing out, we will eventually arrive in Luang Prabang. All of us excited for a new country. New food. New smiles. Repeating a mantra of the few chosen phrases we have all learned. - please, thank you, thank you very much, how much is this, good bye and take care.

We will come and we will go. Laos, a permanence in our consciousness. Different now than perhaps the next time we return as inevitably the west slips in further and alters the DNA. I am grateful to be here. To be here now. To understand how truly fortunate I am.

Just breathe.

In and out. The lungs expand deeper with each breathe. IN and OUT. in and out. In and out until each movement is less calculated. Every gulp of oxygen is a gift I am acutely aware of receiving.

Each day the corset of obligation loosens. Each morning my mind begins it's praise with arms thrown up, spinning around in gleeful circles. The sun rose again today! The sky is blue today! I am healthy today!

Our lives can be anything we want them to be. Isn't that simply glorious?

To have the means and freedom to do as you choose. To be able to travel around the world and know that I have a loving and incredibly beautiful family to come home to. The world is so rich and yet so many go without. If it is beyond my abilities to cure the worlds misfortunes than the best that I can do is humble myself and acknowledge how deeply fortunate I am. Hoping that the essence I leave behind is of love. Thank you creator for providing me with open eyes.

In our wake of love, we have left behind Chiang Mai. As I said before, we made a nest there. It was warm and lovely but it was time to fly north. We have been in the incredible mountain town of Pai for the past few days. Soaking up sun, waterfalls and mineral springs. Pai is a valley of artists and music makers. Everyone seems to be high on each others energy and so I keep taking BIG gulps of air to store up it up for when I need a little lift. Tomorrow we will begin a two day bus/boat journey into Laos to unearth new adventures and a new culture. Until then....breathe....