Social media sites. Facebook newsfeed. Apps. Emails. Texts messages. Smart phones. Laptops. Highways. Public transport during rush hour. Our minds. All come with a constant flow of words, information and clutter. It keeps coming and you can only assimilate so much. Stop trying to take it ALL in. You never will. Trying to will make you crazy. It's just not necessary.

Today I leave you with one word. One phrase. One lesson. One action. One truth.

All you'll ever really need:

LOVE.

Assimilate that.

What big eyes you have

In the modern world we are both more and less connected than we've ever been. We can connect to virtually anyone, anywhere, anytime and yet there is a severe disconnect between people on a spiritual level. When is the last time you really looked into someone's eyes for more than 2 or 3 seconds? 5? Even when we do glance at people in the street it is often less than a second.

Today, I dare you to connect with someone in a deeper level - without words.

The challenge? Look at one another in the eyes for five seconds. It may feel like the longest five seconds you've experienced for a long time. Ask yourselves how you felt. What emotions came up? Laughter? Discomfort? Connection? Fear? Love? Whatever it may be just try it out and be aware of how it felt. Look at how you felt before and after. It is a simple practice that has become almost foreign to many. Go ahead, try something new today. It only takes five seconds!

Spot the Smile

Twice a week I take a seven year old home from school on the subway.  He is always asking for my iphone to play games on and begging for ice cream and candy which I try desperately not to give in to (seeing as I think of skittles and the likes as legalized crack and would feel guilty drugging a kid-sorry ice cream man!). 

Yesterday, in attempt to bring the fun back and distract him from the "misery" he goes through not getting to play on an iphone and eat insane amounts of sugar,  I told him about the exciting new game we could play.  It's called: "Spot the Smile".  One point for every smile you spot.  Whoever gets to 10 first "wins".  He always beat me.  I tried to explain that everyone wins in this game because you end up with a big huge smile on your face!  He still likes to go by the "winner/loser" senario.  Either way it really brightened both of our days.  Also, playing it in New York City makes it all the more challenging .  It is New York after all.  

Today I challenge all of you to play, even if by yourself.  You'll be amazed how happy it can make you to "spot the smiles" rather than stare at the frowns.  Or peoples shoes.  Or the pavement.  You get the picture.

Happy Days and Smiles to all,

Katie

Olive Ridley Sea Turtles

The endangered Olive Ridley Sea Turtles are released every year on the north shore of Bahia de Bandera (The Bay of Banderas) in Nuevo Vallarta, Mexico.

AMA Mexico has been dedicated to the conservation of these turtles since 2002.  In the year 2012 they successfully relocated over 9,000 endangered nests and moved them to incubation corrals on the beaches of Nuevo Vallarta.  

Dare of the day:

"If you're reading this...congratulations, you're alive. 

If that's not something to smile about, then I don't know what is."

-Chad Sugg, Monsters Under Your Head

DARE OF THE DAY:

Try to make eye contact with and smile at EVERY 

person you walk by today...

Just to see what happens.  

You will be amazed how you feel with every step you take.
  It felt like my heart was exploding with fireworks and sunflowers.  
Theres no better feeling than watch a strangers face light up.  

This one is especially for you New Yorkers.  

“Every time you smile at someone, it is an action of 

love, a gift to that person, a beautiful thing.” 

-Mother Teresa

If your heart feels like this at the end of the day....

Well done. You're alive!!

Happy Days to ALL :-)

Lincoln center

Lincoln center dazzling after the rain.

Piece from "The Ballet Project" by FAILE

  Princess Aurora's dress from the wedding scene in "Sleeping Beauty"

at the David H. Koch Theater

Scatter sunshine

Live simply, expect little, give much. Fill your life with love, scatter sunshine. Forget self. Think of others and do as you would be done by.
-unknown

Temazcal

Temazcal are a type of sauna or sweat lodge made from volcanic rock and cement. They've been around since the existence of indigenous cultures in parts of Mexico and Central America and are still used for ceremonies to cleanse the mind, body and spirit. Upon entering each person stopped at the doorway to ask for permission for ourselves and the relationships we carry to enter. The steam is created by pouring water over heater volcanic rocks and herbs are used for medicinal purposes. Each person chose an intention for the ceremony and we chanted and sang (or mumbled and hummed in Spanglish) throughout the ceremony.

This one is located in Puerta Vallarta, Mexico.

Buenos Dias!

Alfajores

Crumbly sandwich cookies filled with dulce de leche (caramel) and covered in coconut. Alfajores are from Latin America and especially popular in Argentina. Delicioso!

Miami

South Beach, Miami

Mind is like dust

From Osho's book "Awareness"

"Desiderata"

Go placidly amidst the noise and haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence. As far as possible without surrender be on good terms with all persons. Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others, even the dull and the ignorant; they too have their story.

Avoid loud and aggressive persons, they are vexatious to the spirit. If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain and bitter; for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.

Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans. Keep interested in your own career, however humble; it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.

Exercise caution in your business affairs; for the world is full of trickery. But let this not blind you to what virtue there is; many persons strive for high ideals; and everywhere life is full of heroism.

Be yourself. Especially, do not feign affection. Neither be cynical about love; for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment it is as perennial as the grass.

Take kindly the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth. Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune. But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings. Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.

Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself. You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here.

And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should. Therefore be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be, and whatever your labors and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul. With all its shams, drudgery, and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. Be cheerful.

Strive to be happy.

-Max Ehrmann

"Desiderata" is Latin for "desired things".
This poem was written in 1927 by American writer Max Ehrmann (1872–1945).

New Year, New You: What are YOU gonna do?

And so it goes:  The new year roles around and in a blink of an eye, January has nearly flown on by.  Again!

Every year we put off our self betterment with another excuse.  "Next year, next month, next week, tomorrow, I'm just not ready, I can't afford it..."  and so on and so forth.  Well,  this year I'm personally done with the excuses.  I've heard them all.  From everyone, including myself.  Most notably myself.  I've always been the queen of excuses.  There's always something with me.  This year I'm going to practice what I preach (or at least try a little harder at it.)  That laundry list of things I've always wanted to learn?  Classes I wanted to take?  It's getting a whole lot of cross outs this time around. 

I volunteered with a school program in Queens teaching kids to use creativity to build confidence and teamwork.  We danced in a circle, taking turns showing off our groove and following each others moves.  It was a blast.  Ive sat through shows with acts ranging from poets to songwriters, musos to beat boxers and rappers that can rhyme faster than I talk (if you know me, you are well aware of how impossible this idea sounds). All of this, inspiring yet another new dream, to learn how to beatbox and rap. Really!  Singing lessons are booked.  Dance classes have been danced.  Old school hip hop?  Kathy a.k.a. "Go get it gurl!" took us on "tour" with MC Hammer.  I've still got my "pumps in a bump".  Gleefull class has Cee Lo's "Forget You" stuck in my head, indefinitely.   Doonya (a fusion of Indian classical/folk/Bollywood dance) has me ready to sign up for the three month Doonya challenge (and maybe even a training course) and this is just the beginning.  Unnata aerial yoga?  Ready and waiting for the next teacher training!  Hammock fluidity?  I hung upside down, attempting to twist and turn my body into the correct position (without falling) long enough to have a bruise to show for it.  I have plans to install a silk hammock from my ceiling.  It's in the talks, anyway.  Oh, the many, if not infinite uses of a large piece of fabric hanging from the ceiling. Its a chair!  It's a swing!  It's a yoga/fitness prop!   No, it's my fantasy bed!!  Pilates?  No quite my thing but my body still aches, in a good way.  An online Ayurveda course has begun and I'm about to sign up for a health coaching course as well.  

All in all, just weeks into this new year and I'm fully inspired, eagerly learning, happy as a clam, shining bright with gratitude and ready for more, more, more, please!  My life is transforming into the most intriguing circus act.   Heck, by the end of they year, I may even be ready to join the circus, if that is still my wish.   My body is regaining strength and tone I haven't had since my high school cheerleading days.  Fun and adventure levels are skyrocketing in ways they don't normally, unless while traveling.  Okay, so my debt may be rising a little bit but nothing I can't, and haven't payed off before (with a lot of hard work).  Charging every possible class onto your credit cards is a wee bit extreme and I don't recommend trying that at home, kids.  Though, thanks to websites like www.classtivity.com and Groupon, great deals and new experiences are widely attainable.  I do suggest you try something new.  Hang upside down, dance like the cast from Glee, flex some muscle, pick up a paint brush, OM your shanti on, whatever floats your boat.  Who knows, you're next hobby or dream job may just do a backflip in front of you screaming "Pick me!! pick me!".  (Or perhaps it will come to you in the form of a Bollywood dancer).  

What are you waiting for??  Go do it, to it!

Travel Tips 101:

BEFORE YOU GO
Here are some basic things you REALLY want to cover before you go "Leaving on a Jet Plane" into the great abyss that we call Mother Earth. You may be a seasoned traveler and already know these things but DO go over them every once in a while. Spare yourselves the stress, time and energy that could potentially be wasted by taking care of all these teeny, tiny, yet necessary details during your trip. Even after months and even over a year away from my mother-ship country, I still run into issues and I am still learning.

1. DOCUMENT COPIES:
Make sure you've got paper copies AND files via email of ALL your important documents. (passport/drivers license/ID/credit cards/debit cards/insurance card/student ID/AAA card/prescriptions/membership cards/birth certificate/diplomas etc.) You really never know.

2. PASSPORT PHOTOS:
Always travel with several spare passport photos. If you ever find a super cheap place to get them, go ahead and stock up! I spent about $30-35/4 (or 8?) tiny little passport photos in Sydney. When I made it to India, they cost about $1/4. Needless to say I stocked up in India. I can recall several times while traveling where I had to spend my day looking for a place that does passport photos, waste money that was not in my budget (for mini pictures of myself) and wait for them to be printed. Than again, I cannot recall said moments as I may have blocked them out.

3. VISA REQUIREMENTS:
Don't just double check. Triple check visa requirements for each country you plan to enter. Even after checking a stamp on my Thai landing card, I was mistaken. It showed my landing date and the date three months from then, so I figured I have three months. I'd even showed other tourists. Turns out you only have one month at a time. You can do a visa run (leave and return) within that three month period but not stay more than a month without paying a fine. This I learned at the border crossing to Laos. I panicked, they giggled. I lost my landing card, which held the 3 month stamp (the one I clearly misunderstood). I stayed 17 days over, by mistake. Err, whoops? That's 500 Thai Baht/day or roughly $280. CASH only. Plus motorbike ride back into town to use the ATM. Plus the $5/transaction fees on about 4-5 transactions. You could only withdraw around 2000 Thai Baht or -$70 each time. Luckily my account had enough money left (though it was nearly the end of its ropes to begin with).  Lesson learned? Do your homework. Pay attention to those horrid "regulations". Try not to overstay.

4. CASH:
ALWAYS ALWAYS have spare cash on you. I got into the habit of using up my currency in one country so I wouldn't have to spend more money reconverting the leftover notes in the next country. Also, as some exchange desks wont take all currencies from smaller countries such as Laos, Cambodia etc. Lets just say I was stranded at the airport in Germany long enough to learn to arrive with cash. My checking account had been closed by HSBC and transferred to a small bank while I was out of the county for 1 1/2 years. The bus tickets into the city were cash only. I was relying on CC cash advances. No, the currency exchange desk did not perform this service and I didn't know my credit card pin as I never planned on needing to take ATM cash advances. All in all, it was a learning experience of a day.

5. TRAVELERS CHECKS:
Take some emergency AMEX traveler checks too!! I finally just learned this one. And AMEX in general is amazing, they saved me from being completely stranded in the small airport near Frankfurt. I called them, they gave me a temporary PIN to access cash from an ATM. Easy, breezy, lifesavers.

6. CC PIN NUMBER:
Number 4 brings me to this one. Remember your Credit Card PIN number - call and change it so its the same as your debit cards PIN. Just in case you loose your debit card (i.e. forgot to remove it from the ATM in Bangkok), your lovely bank (ehh hem, HSBC) transfers all your accounts to a tiny bank while you are away from the country, or you simply go overboard (you have a terrible illness called the "travel bug" that convinces you to book just one more flight before going home), run out of money and need a cash advance.

7. CUSTOMS:
Always have an address and as much info as possible for where you're staying in a new country. Some countries are real strict about it (Heathrow Airport nearly made me cry). Have the name of a guesthouse/hotel, the address and phone number just in case. Some countries just looked at my passport and in I went where others (eh hem-England) have detained and fingerprinted me for 5 hrs. Have the info written on paper (not just your phone-the battery will likely decide to die just when you need it-or you'll realize you had the info sent to you via Facebook message and you no longer have service as your phone has a sim card from the last country you were in, with no balance. These things happen, at least to me.
Also, have your "occupation" sorted out - I've gotten hell over these questions. I'm a bit of a dabbly drifty hippie it seams and never have one clear answer for these types of questions. I don't fit on paper. I'm a student. Of life. But no, I'm not enrolled anywhere. Not now anyway. But soon. But my travels are my studies. My last job? Well, I lived with a family. Kind of as an "Au Pair". But we didn't refer to me as a "nanny" or "au pair". I was just Katie, the friend/family extension that helped with stuff. So you're a nanny? Well just for those few months. I used to do makeup. I haven't done it in a while. But I'm kind of still a Makeup Artist. Just taking a break while traveling. But I just completed my yoga teacher training in India... "Do you want to do back to Delhi? Because I can send you back to Delhi!" Hmmph. To avoid the previous stress keep it clear and have a simple answer. Even if you're like me and there isn't really one.

8. PAPER BOARDING PASSES:
Some airports/airlines live in the past and require paper printouts of your boarding pass/itinerary just to get inside the airport (this even goes for the "top 2 rated airports in the world" ehh hemm Delhi Airport). If you arrive super early from an all night, twelve hour bus ride followed by a taxi that ripped you off - for about 3x what you payed before - your info may not be in the system yet and can take a good 30 minutes to get your print out (despite the not-so-very-early birds on line after you). Given the circumstances and that fact that you really have to wee, you may be in a foul and impatient mood and act in an unusually out-of-character, rude manner. This is not nice. If you're American, it especially doesn't help to fulfill any of our obnoxious stereotypes. Plus, did I mention it's not nice and you may feel bad about it later. Lesson: its good to have them printed just in case-or double check before each flight if they will need it or not.

9. BAGGAGE CHECK:
If you have to check a bag - do yourself a favor and kindly peek at the bag label to make sure it actually says YOUR name on it. Not someone with the same last name, who's first name is clearly a mans, such as John or Tom, when you are clearly "Katie" or (insert name here). People miss these things, it happens. Lets just say, when it comes to baggage tags, the vast differences between men and women may no longer exist, unless you really pay attention to the details.  Pay attention to he details.

I know this was a lot of info but I've had moments of hell and back while traveling - even broke into tears a few times (I'm NOT one to cry in public or in front of anyone for that matter). Take my advice. Avoid near breakdowns in public places, foreign countries and pretty much anywhere. It's better to be prepared and happy. :-) Omm Shanti Shanti Shanti...