Piece of Advice

The closer that my 2 months of traveling gets, the more I'm reminded of a theme that many people understand, but few hold their lives to these two simple principles: fun and love. So many people do things "because they have to" or because "they need to," don't give me that crap and don't give anyone else that crap. There's plenty of time and energy to do the things you want to do with your life, but most people choose not to. Why? We are on this planet for a short time NOT to have fun and to love everything. I think that people are afraid of taking risks, people are afraid of failing, but most importantly, they're afraid fo succeeding. What if I'm different? What if people don't accept me for what I'm doing and/or what I've accomplished? First off, get out of high school, everyone, and don't worry about what other people think. There will always be people who will accept you and what you're doing, so if someone in your life doesn't accept what you're doing, move on from that place in your life.

I see too many doors unopened, too many stones unturned, and too many opportunities missed because people are afraid of having fun and loving because "it's not practical." If everyone went for the practical, nothing great would ever be accomplished. Would atomic energy ever have been discovered? How about the light bulb? What about any modern convenience you come in contact with? People who accomplished these feats tried something different and they went outside of the norm; they loved and did something that they were passionate about.

I am noticing an abundance of videos and travelers and writers who are having fun and loving and dropping their boring normal life, a life that people are unhappy with and they don't know why, to do what they've always wanted and you know what? THEY'RE HAPPY. They took a chance and most failed along the way, but they're happy. They succeeded in a way that most people don't succeed, and in the smal failures along the way, these people see success because they're different, they "went for it."

So I ask and plead with people; entertain those crazy thoughts in the back of your mind. Give them a chance, because who wants to be living the one life we have not being happy and not having fun? Whatever these two things mean to you, whether it's having a family, significant other, house, and a quiet life, studying music and education people on it, traveling around the world meeting people, or sitting in your room playing video games. But in any situation, you need to ask yourself truthfully, "does this make me happy and am I having fun?" If the honest answer to yourself is no, then you need to listen to that voice in the back of your head telling you to do what you've always wanted. If your answer to yourself is yes, then I commend you.

Do me a favor, all, give yourself a chance to love and have fun. Too many people disregard it for sadness and being content. Live your life, don't let someone else live it.

Trip to LuoYang/Anticipation

Went to LuoYang over the weekend! It was a great trip. For those of you (probably all of you) who don't know, this is about an hour away from the famous Shaolin temple.....yes where Kung-Fu was invented. It was good, although too touristy for me. We climbed a small mountain to a cave where a monk meditated and then came up with the idea of Kung-Fu, saw some Kung-Fu schools, and just enjoyed the area, which was pretty big. Also went to a temple that claims to have been the place where some of the first Buddhist Sutras were translated from Sanskrit into Chinese. It was nice; very Chinese and there were no tourists, which is always a plus in my book.

Also went to the Longmen Grottoes. One word; breathtaking. This place was covered in thousands of Buddhas carved into caves of a rock face or even tiny Buddhas making tile-like appearances all over the place. This place had Buddhas from over 100 feet tall to ones the size of my index finger; it was absolutely remarkable. The sheer number and magnitude of this place was awe-inspiring.

Still getting things ready for my trip in a month to Indonesia and Cambodia. Should be a good trip and a good opportunity to see what I'm like traveling for an extended period of time, and alone! I'm meeting up with a friend in Cambodia, but not after about 3 weeks, so I'm excited to see how things go. I've been talking to a few people in Indonesia that will help me out and show me around, which is good because they can help show me the little known spots, which are always the best!

Just wanted to give an update after my trip.

Take care all