I have always been comfortable giving what I can to friends, family and causes I support. I never have much money but if I can give time, a skill or support, I love to do that. During the preparation for this trip I have learned that the flip side to giving is taking. Not just taking but accepting what is offered with grace and without guilt. OK, did I say I have learned? Well maybe not quite. I am learning.

The trip has been a fantasy now for years but once I committed to a leaving date and it became a reality, people have stepped forward giving me; support, things I need and even ‘gas’ money. It is overwhelming. It is weird. I don’t mean to say that I am not appreciating it because that would be wrong. More to the point, I am seeing myself as a person who can receive help in what ever way it is given. I am in stages, grateful, overwhelmed, emotional, guilty and grateful all over again. I am not even on the road yet and yet I can feel my life and perception of myself and the space I inhabit shifting.

Shifting? Yes. I am changing. I have in past years loved who I am and have been grateful for the life I have been given. I thought that it couldn’t get any better. Whoooo, I am seeing that I still have a long way to go. The journey promises to be geographical both in the larger world and inside.

Thank you Thank you Thank you.