I have been traveling a lot the past week. Five planes in seven days. Different cities. Each a unique environment. Some have been stark, nothing extra. Some have a few too many throw pillows for my liking. Each place an opportunity to check in with my self and say…how does this place feel? How do I feel?
This past week I was in LA. Caroline was with me. One night, after a particularly challenging day, I thought to myself…I wish I had a candle. Tonight is the kind of night I’d light it, sit atop the bed and spend a few minutes doing nothing but focusing on my breath. Not two minutes later, Caroline walks in with her incense and an incense holder asking if I’d like some. She didn’t realize she blew my mind. I sat and watched the trail of smoke move towards the open sliding door meeting the warm breeze.
She completely transformed that night. This small, simple gesture shifted my entire state and for a few moments, I got to sink in deeper to the evening, to me.
This past week I’m reminded how much our temporary and transient environments matter. I’ve dreamed up Organic Erotic BNB’s and eventually hotels. Places where the focus is the felt sense and you feel a sense of coming back home even on the road. While these are coming to be, I will begin traveling with our OE travel kit. Even a few things tucked in the side pocket of my suitcase make a difference. The number of times I wanted my daily ritual items surprised me.
When I am nourished in the small ways, I am able to give that out to others. Holding the door for a waitress with her hands full of half eaten plates, smiling at the person across the terminal that is carrying more bags than their arms can handle, or complimenting the nails of the over worked flight attendant. Each of these stem back to those moments I take to find the emptiness within me, starting with my environment.