Traveling in Asia feeds my heart in so many ways, yet equally confounds my mind in just as many ways. I have a deep affinity for so much of the culture--and yes, some of those things that drive my mind wild. Refreshingly different things juxtaposed with heart wrentching incongruencies has kept me pondering this trip, I thought I'd share a few of them here:

• Seemingly outrageous and chaotic traffic. This took some time to understand. While it seems chaotic and out of control, really, people and drivers are far more courteous,  inclusive and cooperative. There seems to be an attitude of "we're all in this together trying to live our lives and reach our destination. I want you to be safe and happy, too." This makes sense in a predominently Buddhist region given that keeping others' happiness in our hearts and minds is a Buddhist tenet-- we all want happiness and here we take the time to help others be happy. We've heard of some hairy accidents, but for the volume of traffic, they seem relatively small in comparison. I recently rented a scooter for a few days on the island of Koh Lanta. Learning how to drive on the left side of the road is challenging enough, but merging traffic, blurred and ignored divider lines, and roads needing repair kept me mindful and in the moment!
  
• Things are not perfect nor perfectly safe. Jim and I were not the only ones that found this refreshing. While in general, safety and boundaries can actually increase our ability to be more creative and fulfilled (we're not having to struggle with our basic needs), some cultures have regulated moment-by-moment living out of life through excessive concern with safety and boundaries. Our trek to the Tham Khao Makaeo cave on Koh Lanta brought this foremost in our minds. What we thought was going to be a simple, overpriced tourist trap walk into an open crevice in a mountainside turned into a three-hour exhilarating trek...
  

I love this time of year. As year end holidays meet the coming year, it's almost as if time takes a pause, like that space between inhale and exhale. Time stands still momentarily and we switch gears from thankful reflection to forward intention and motion. That pause is sometimes the focal point for mindfulness practice, as it is one of the more ignored moments of our lives.

Even if you've never been a client or student of mine, I invite you to take part in an exercise that honors this moment. Take a sheet of paper and fold it in half. On one side reflect back through 2016 and list your accomplishments that can be celebrated, big and small. On the other side, write a list of things you'd like to see manifest in 2017.

The crease in the center of the paper is this moment of pause. This moment of turning the corner from reflection to your coming future. I invite you to bask in this moment, because if you have been a client of mine, you know that your 2017 list has a strong potential of coming true. Particularly if you make an honest and authentic commitment to it.