11 Lessons I learned from traveling around the world

A year in Review – the good, the bad, the ugly!

Thank you for tagging along with me during my crazy year of adventure from one country to the next. From USA to Netherlands to India to Germany to France to Austria to Hungary to Slovakia to UK to Croatia to Italy to Switzerland to India to Indonesia to Australia to New Zealand and back to California, USA via Hawaii and Florida.

It was a year ago, I had consciously decided to take a leap of faith and travel the world, instead of jumping back into a full time career. I’ve to say that, it was the best decision of my life and if I have to leave this planet anytime soon, I would have no regrets but a big smile on my face. What started as a journey of curiosity and thirst for adventure ended up becoming a spiritual journey of self-discovery and love for humanity 💕

It has been few weeks, since I am back home in California and I was super excited to jumpstart 2020 but the Universe had different plans for me. I couldn’t sleep all night and then followed a very long saga of being sick and in pain. I am not going to bore you with the gory details when I felt like I was about to die and then I was reborn again… Well, during those moments, I felt like I still have some work to do and it was not time for me to say “goodbyes” yet. I had the strong urge to “help others live a truly happy life.” I looked back into my past for guidance and I realized that I had spent half of my life at work and I had endured my fair share of pain from abuse, overwork, underpaid, discrimination, blah blah blah…. I always thought that “this” just happened to me and I was an “unique” case but as I did some research and discussed with friends, I realized that a lot of people suffer from workplace abuse in their lifetime. On top of that, if you add heartbreaks and personal trials and tribulations, life might seem very hard.

When the Maori healer in Queenstown told me, “You need to write a book to heal others by sharing how you manifested your dreams inspite of the hardships you had suffered.” I brushed his wisdom aside when I got back to the States but when I was sick and in my own head, I was able to connect the dots and understand what he was trying to say. I feel the time is right for me to focus my energy in “creating workplace happiness programs to inspire and uplift employees.” I am sure it will take time but the lessons I have learned from my year of travel will surely guide me in the right direction.

Eleven (11) Lessons I have learned during my travels:

Attitude can make you or break you – This is one the hardest lesson I learned and I am so grateful that life showered me with so many ups and downs. In fact, the down moments are the ones which truly helped me appreciate that I have the choice to either choose happiness or sorrow. Being happy is a way of living and it all comes down to having the right mindset and positive attitude. If you have read, Law of Attraction, you can understand what I am trying to say. Last year, I had to let go a 10-year friendship because it was draining my energy and I was tired of been taken advantage of. After I was able to let go, the universe showered me with lot of positive spirited individuals. Living in the present moment “now” is the only way to fully enjoy life because tomorrow is never guaranteed.
Put your dreams into motion – By writing my dreams down, sketching them, visualizing it unfolding and the feelings were so real, that the Universe conspired to make it happen. And, when I was presented with this opportunity, I listened to my gut by ignoring doubts and money concerns by saying “Yes.” My takeaways is that “Never give up on your dreams, Go for it and All will fall in place.” This is my 2020 mantra, as I open the second chapter of my life.
Travel often to spark magic – I read somewhere, “If you’ve not traveled much, then it is like reading only one chapter of your life!” Imagine how boring that would be! Since 21, I had traveled alone from India to the States, then took a solo trip to Paris after my graduation, and since then my life has never been the same. I can’t even describe the “magic” that happens to me when I travel. All I can say is that “I am truly happy and at peace.” Honestly, apart from the history, architecture, delicious food and cultures, it’s always the PEOPLE that make my adventures so much more meaningful and exciting. And, let’s not forget “bungee jumping,” I survived to tell you “be fearless even if you throw the F bomb along the way! Which crazy adventure is next on my roadmap…. No idea. If you invite me, I will not say no 😉
Plan but don’t Plan – I had a “big plan,” that I wanted to travel, live in different cities each month, and learn as much as I can. But I decided to have my travel plans be more flexible and plan only a month in advance. This was way out of my comfort zone but the flexibility allowed me to seize opportunities and go to places where the wind called my name.
Have a Budget – Without financial means I would have not been able to undertake this journey. The first thing I did was looked at my finances, prepared a realistic budget, subleased my condo and made sure that I had a good safety net for unforeseen situations. This was my holy grail because it is so easy to blow up your money if you don’t have a budget. Thanks to my friend Charu, Barbara, Becky, Gianmaria, Dudley and my family in India, who let me stay for free in their homes. I took some freelance work here and there. My total cost for a year of travel to 70+ cities (airfare, food, hotel, excursions) and learning (yoga, meditation, language courses, reiki, qigong, tibetan art) ended up being around $26K, which is much lower than what I would have spent if I had just stayed put in San Francisco.
Pack Light, both physically and emotionally – I learned the hard way that the less baggage you have in your life, it is much more easier to live your “best” happy life. After being on the road for few months, I shipped my big heavy wrist-aching bag to my friend, Chelsy, in California. Since then I have learned to live as a minimalist with just a carry-on bag. Also, along the way, at various destinations, I kept on shedding off my “emotional baggage.” I choose to only have less but good stuff and positive people in my life.
Love Thyself – During my 10 day silent meditation Buddhism teaching at Tushita (thanks to Anna, Silvana and Barbara, for inspiring me to do the course), I was able to learn that I am here to love myself before I can love anyone else. Being selfish for my own happiness is nothing to be ashame of. Loving myself and others unconditionally without any feelings of attachment is something I am working towards.
Morning Rituals and Being Gratitude – Nowadays, I wake up every morning with a big smile and gratitude for still being here, having a roof over my head, food on my plate and all the love I have in my life. With this energy, I do my morning prayers, meditation, tibetan rites and light yoga. Some days, I doodle and let my creative juices flow freely. Other days, I keep on writing in my journal. What I have observed is that by accomplishing so much every morning, I feel happy, content and proud of myself. Anything I do after that is like icing on the cake.
Nurturing Friendships and Relationships – Having “true” friends who will be there for you no matter what, is something to be grateful about! They are my support system, my sounding board and my reason to be alive. We are there for each other without any judgements. Without the support and encouragement from my friends Kathleen, Seena, Ivonne and Carla, I would have given up on my dreams. There were some “low” moments during my travels but they were always there for me – to listen and inspire me. It didn’t matter to them that I was miles away in different time zone. We kept in touch. I also met so many amazing humans during my journey and I have made a conscious decision to keep on nurturing my relationships with each of them, by keeping my home and heart open. Thanks to technology, I am just a phone call away. Special thanks to Alice for celebrating my Birthday in Melbourne. I heart you.
Just have Compassion: Let’s be honest, we are accustomed to our old habits and preconceived notions. I don’t know about you, but my monkey mind does like to judge someone, just based on their actions or their outlook. After meeting so many people from all walks of life, whether it was the nomad family who live in the harshest conditions of the Himalayas, a girl from Europe whose cancer had recently returned and was super subconscious about her drastic weight gain, or a guy who had been to prison for bad choices in the past but turned around his life and is now a healer, well the stories can go on and on….. Each of them has showed me, what it is to be vulnerable, courageous, fearless. Nowadays, whenever my “judgey” side comes up, I catch myself and turn those judgements into compassion. Embracing our differences and being kind is the least I can do, for I don’t know what internal struggle one is going through. Also, I am learning to have compassion for myself, because there are times I can be my own worst critic. Who knew! Lol
Abundance and Patience go hand in hand – I am so grateful that I live in the US. There are lot of things we take for granted, let’s take water for instance. Half of the human population doesn’t even have safe drinking water, let alone a toilet in their home. We live in a world of “abundance.” All we have to do is open our eyes and pay attention to details. I am choosing to invite abundant opportunities, love, health and wealth into my life because I deserve it and so does anyone. Sometimes, it might take longer to realize our dreams and that’s when we have to be patient with Ourselves and the Universe. Usually, I have the habit of finishing a painting or reading a book non-stop until I am done, but now I am practicing the art of being patient by reading only a chapter or two a day, and painting only for an hour and continue where I left off the next day… It’s not easy but I am trying to live in an optimistic abundant mindset.

Honestly, there is a lot more I have learned during my year of adventure and self-discovery but the above 11 lessons are kinda a “short” version, with the hope that it will inspire you to follow your dreams where ever they might take you! All you need is some sass 💁‍♀️ and a “fiery RED carryon bag!” 😘