Wednesday, April 05, 2006

a dedication....



So my 3 month journey has come to an end and I am back here in Honolulu reminiscing on my amazing journey. It is a bit surreal coming back to a world where I must drive and face traffic and see large tall skycrapers in my daily viewing distance but I am also so blessed that I still have ocean and palm trees and warm waters beckoning me in a not so distance realm - a funny but very real dichotomy that has really hit me since I have been back.

When looking back at all my pictures, I so much want to share with you all the wonderful people that I have met along the way- those who have been with me through tough times and those who have made me laugh in the most joyous and memorable of times.... but then I stop and ponder the importance of all this to you...for I know you would be happy for me in the fact that I met wonderful people; however, these are people who made a significant impact on me and would probably just feel like "nice happy faces" to you.....so, in light of this desire to not "bore you with "more faces", I decided to just dedicate this last entry to an all important item that has been with me these past few months.

This all important, "sole-saving friend" has been : my shoes...my "slippers" as we would call it here in Hawaii..."flip flops" as they call them in Thailand.

These are by far the most comfortable pair of shoes I have ever owned. They have been on my feet daily for the past 2 and half years...on this trip alone, they have walked literally dozens of miles, up vast, green hills to austere temples and mountaintops. They have walked down lonesome streets filled with the occasional monk at dawn and have wrestled through the most bustling of markets in downtown Bangkok and Chiang Mai. And of course, they have been in my arms as I walked down many a long stretch of white sandy beach as I pondered for the "umpteenth time" the meaning of life and my place in it.

But perhaps most importantly, I dedicate my last entry to my shoes because these shoes once belonged to my mother. She wore these shoes every day while she was living here in Hawaii for the past ten years before she departed to other brighther , more spectacular realms. She was with me every day, in every adventure that I undertook in this journey. For this, I am forever grateful as I always felt safe in these shoes, knowing she was always near, smiling her ever-so-toothy smile, enjoying vicariously, every beautiful sunset I watched. For you see, I am a gypsy at heart because of my Mom and I feel like by wearing these shoes, I will continue to always be one; for I have truly realized from this adventure that home is truly where the heart is and as long as you carry those you love in you, you are never alone, wherever you are on this great big beautiful planet that we live on.

So thanks, Mom, for coming on this adventure with me....and thanks to all of you, who have supported me this whole way. I am forever grateful for your love and support.


Until we meet again......

melina