On the one hand I am an adventurous traveler, exploring the world, living a nomadic life, constantly searching, constantly finding new places inside and out… on the other, I am also simply a mother of a two year and a six months old who’s dealing with daily issues like potty training, teething and sleep deprivation. The latter has been getting to me over the past few days, so much so that I lost my wallet including money, cards, licenses etc, almost set the van on fire over the gas stove, woke up in a minus something degree freezing van as the heater went on strike just as daddy had left to Greece for two days, or course a nappy explosion also hit… To cut a long story short, Murphy’s law stroke and I hit the bottom. Endurance is the word to describe these days of waiting for a boat, and a job and a few other bits and pieces in the cold and rainy London.

The game is won or lost in the mind, before it is won or lost in external circumstances.

A mail from a friend. How amazing it must feel to be so free. True. No commitments, not many belongings, no schedule, no have to’s, not much stuff to weigh us down… News on the radio about the cyclone in the Philippines and Sardinia. Nowhere is safe. Suffering everywhere. A thought about the millions of people in the world who have no 70 pounds to lose, no cards to seal their identity with, no van to shelter them, no husband to wait for, no healthy and adorable kids who smile, no matter what. A fabulous novel, Antino, by a friend on the last two years of her brother’s suffering, as he slowly died from AIDs in the 70s. Another book on Shackleton’s incredible voyage on the Endurance to what was going to be the first trans-antarctic-crossing in 1915. Unimaginable the challenges the 28 crew faced stuck in ice during a long and very dark winter. It’s all about putting things into perspective.

Happiness is a habit. Let’s start practicing it.

I feel like we got stuck in the mud, quite literally, and trying to go backwards will only dig the wheels deeper in. As tempting as a beautiful Aussie summer back with our friends is, the only way out of this big paddle is to keep going. Keep looking ahead, aiming high and being satisfied only with the reality of our dreams alone.