FINDING INNER PEACE... "ZEN"

From Fiji to Paris, Tokyo to Rio de Janeiro, Ibiza to the verdant plains of the Serengeti, the world has a rich reserve of beauty that begs to be explored. In spite of this, just very few of us get to drink from this beauty, and the few that do, only do so through the screens of our televisions or mobile devices. That was me and thanks to corporate America, the only time I was able  to travel was daydreaming – when a YouTube ad popped up or flipping through the pages of a magazine. You get used to those bland grays and monochromes that the corporate world seems to positively adore and that odd persistent kink on your neck that never seems to go away becomes a friend of sorts. My version of relaxation was a rushed mani-pedi every two weeks or listening to music while I would drive my daughter and her friends to local events. Sometimes, it doesn’t take a grand incident or a near-death experience to push you off a sustained habit. It takes something as simple as a persistent headache, lackluster reality of your life or how the waitress at the coffee shop gave you a Latte instead of an Espresso. My life had become an ennui mishmash of backbreaking weekdays, computer screens, hair buns, and phone calls. I had nothing to look forward to. Each week was like the one before. Scratch that! Each new week felt worse and more stressful than the last. My creativity plummeted to the point of no return and before I knew it, all my ideas became hollow and devoid of soul. I was the quintessential hard worker and it wasn’t a wonder that I fit in so perfectly in the rat race. I worked my butt off, trying to get ahead and hoping to be part of something someday. Then one day, I snapped! I couldn’t take it anymore. I knew there was more to life than the mechanical dynamics of the corporate world. I knew there had to be a way to bring color back into my life – to unclog the source of my creative juices. But how? I had no clue. I decided to take planned trips outside Los Angeles on a monthly basis to help with the stress and give me a fresh view on things. Who knew that would be the start of my 22-destination dream! Today, I am light years away from the woman I used to be. Sure, I still work in the corporate world, but I am not a part of it. I have found a delicate balance between work and globetrotting (state trotting, in my case). My life has never been better, my creativity levels are crazy and most importantly, I’ve found my Zen. You can have all this too, and it’s not as hard as it seems. Find it!