Bringing Back the Boon - 20 Things I Learned in Europe

by Kayce Stevens Hughlett

Six weeks is a long time to be away from home. People keep asking me if I’m adjusted to being back. Truth is: I really don’t care to “adjust.” If you or I invest time and energy into soulful travel, what is the point of returning home unchanged? Is it even possible?

“Imagine your return journey as the last act of an epic story. Which moments gleamed brighter, gave you pause, challenged all your previous beliefs, reconfirmed your belief in the power at the center? … Can you recapture them now that you are home?” Phil Cousineau from “The Art of Pilgrimage”

For me ‘recapturing’ means remembering, so today as part of “adjusting,” I share this list for you and me:

1. Make space for your dreams.
2. Don’t ignore the thin places.
3. Resistance is an opportunity to grow.
4. Desire is delicious whether it be wine or chocolate, a stroll in the rain, Chanel lipstick, or a day spent in pj’s.
5. What I want matters. What you want matters.
6. Cell phones, internet access, and Facebook do not make the world go ‘round.
7. If a dream or story wakes you up in the middle of the night, listen. Write it down. Pay attention. Otherwise, it’s like a persistent knock that won’t go away until you answer it.
8. Stairs and hills are my friend. They are a reminder of all I have worked to overcome and what I have to lose if I don’t take care of myself.
9. Silence just may be the center of the universe.
10.  Some memories will always be challenging and hard. Honor them anyway. If not, they will track you down and kick your ass. And they will likely choose to do so at the most inopportune time, like when you’re standing at the top of the Eiffel Tower surrounded by immense beauty and light with nowhere to run.
11. Old (and new) heartaches and heartbreaks deserve their due. Burying them does not mean they’re gone.
12. My super power is deep listening. My sidekick is sharing it with others. Sometimes it kicks their ass. Sometimes it kicks mine.
13. Soulful travel will no doubt result in one form or another of ass kicking.
14. Resistance is an opportunity to grow. (See #3).
15. Notice ten things every day, write them down, and your life will change.
16. Find a witness. Connect. Speak your truth. Prepare to be blessed.
17. Choose witnesses carefully (See #16). Not everyone has earned the right to hear your story.
18. Vulnerability is the only way through.
19. Thin places are real. There is no here or there, only now.
20. Honor and create time for things that truly call to (and from) your heart.

Sharon Richards and I are returning to Paris October 17-24, 2015 for another SoulStrolling à Paris adventure. What if you imagined your own story as an epic journey? What towers would you climb? What desires whisper to your heart? Contact us @ info@soulstrolling.com to see if this journey is a fit for you.