Did you know there are wide wooden chairs on the Seine in Paris? Along the left bank, in a lovely hidden spot, floating on barges, just begging for a soul to lounge. I simply could not refuse the invitation. Gazing out over the Seine, inhaling and exhaling, thrilled in my heart to be in Paris….
Category: Travel
Italy, Adventure and SoulStrolling™
Rosalba, Alessandro, Raymondo, Christina, Julia, Masilliammo, are just a few of the wonderful people I met during our family adventure in Italy. We soulstrolled our way from Florence to Positano, staying in airbnb villas in Mercatale Valdarno and Positano. We wandered by foot, traveled by train, drove through winding Tuscan hills and sunflower covered fields…
Beethoven, Seals and Water
Glistening speckled grey, brown and white heads popped up on the water’s calm surface. Black shining eyes gazed intently, long wet whiskers curiously twitching, as Beethoven’s fifth symphony floated across the water. It was the summer of 1973 and I was on my grandparents boat, The Framac, in Desolation Sound, British Columbia. The heat of…
Light and Shadow
Lingering, listening inward. Generously giving holistic hearth health, tranquil together. Soul simplifying silence. Heartfelt hunger aligns. Diving deep, dancing, open wide.
Laryngitis in Paris – on losing and finding my voice.
“When you come to a fork in the road, take it.” Yogi Berra What happens when the fork in the road is not of your choosing? What happens when you’re co-leading SoulStrolling à Paris and lose your voice for 4 days? The following quote, from “For the Traveler” by John O’Donahue, takes on a deeper,…
Why Paris?
People ask me, “What is it about Paris that draws you back time and time again?” My reply: ‘I’m following the thread. When you listen to your soul, who knows where your ‘soles’ may lead.’ “There’s a thread you follow. It goes among things that change. But it doesn’t change. People wonder about what you…
‘Did ecstasy roll at my feet?’ Hiking Adam’s Peak, Sri Lanka
“…learn to be quiet, still and solitary. The world will freely offer itself to you to be unmasked, it has no choice, it will roll in ecstasy at your feet.” Franz Kafka Here’s the thing, hiking Adam’s Peak in Sri Lanka was not how I’d imagined. I’d envisioned a dark, somewhat solitary, quiet hike through…
Sun Dappled Toes, Kurumba, Maldives
Sun dappled toes. Salt scented air wafting, whispering, ‘Rest, savor, be.’ Exotic birds serenading, ‘Welcome to our home.’ Cerulean seas kissing silken sand. Feasting, frolicking, flipping fish, Painting the corral landscape: amethyst, magenta, sapphire and lime. Fragrant flowers displaying ruby, diamond and golden hues. Sunset canvas unfolding in the evening sky. Mindful of color, embracing…
SoulStrolling in Bangalore
How do you SoulStroll in a city with over ten million people, constant noise, traffic, pollution and poverty; yet paradoxically hosts greening trees, blossoming bougainvillea, an incredibly hospitable culture and people, delicious food, colors galore and fascinating history? You carry your soul and awareness with tenderness, and an open heart toward whatever may be. Also,…
The Big ? What to Pack!
Here I stand with suitcase in hand, wondering what on earth to pack. What do I really need, can’t travel without? What’s the climate going to be like, what’s appropriate for the culture, and why do I seem to have way too much stuff for the length of time I’m going to be away? Ah…
When you unlatch your sole/soul, who knows where it may lead?
My Mom loves recounting the story of how as a young toddler of 3, I wandered off a mile from home to watch the Koi in the pond outside our local Fire Station. Needless to say, she was quite shocked upon receiving a phone call from a concerned neighbor thinking they had just seen little…
Love Poem for Paris
You welcome me over and over again as I return to hold your hand and lose myself upon your cobblestone streets. Deep-seated joy arises as we land at Charles de Gaulle, and the RER carries me across your threshold. The center of my being expands, and I fall in love again. Along…
Sharon Richards 