ADVENTURE + ALIVENESS Page 11 of 13

Roadtrip #2: Sharks and jellyfish

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I have always loved the ocean.  I grew up by the sea, and I find aquariums a kind of blissful escape from the city.  While on our recent roadtrip around the US we visited the big aquarium in Boston. It drew us in with its huge central tank that runs over several floors (full of all sorts of ominous creatures – see above!) and its shark and ray touch pool (the rays felt kind of slimy if you are interested!)

But what surprised me was the slightly odd obsession I developed with the ‘moonjellies’.

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Glowing an eerie blue colour, they pulsated in the dark waters. Silent, peaceful, squidgily beautiful.  I couldn’t take my eyes off them.

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I also loved these graceful jellyfish, dawdling along trailing their stings like ink drips.

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And of course the penguins are always delightful, although having sat among several thousand on an Antarctic island I would much prefer that they were in their natural habitat…

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More tomorrow!

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Life-changing”, “Revolutionary”, “Awe-inspiring”, “Transformative – just a few of the ways former participants have described the Do What You Love e-course.

Do you fancy some of that in your life? Do you want to get closer to identifying your true passion and finding a way to do what you love, for life? Then this is for you!

The Do What You Love e-course is open for registration now. The adventure begins on September 26 but places are limited so book now to secure your place. This is the last time it will run this year.

This is your chance to join a global tribe of like-minded people who will support and encourage you to find your way.

It could be the most influential six weeks of your life… Join now!

Roadtrip #1: For the love of travel

 Roadtrip #1: For the love of travel mirror1Love the ‘beware of moose’ sign at the side of the road – we don’t get those in England!

For the past 2-3 weeks I have been on the road around the Eastern part of the US and up into Canada with my man.  We travelled 1800 km (a third of the flying distance from here in Yorkshire to Boston!) exploring cities and small towns, mountains and forests, national parks and water parks!  We delved a little into history, and delved a lot into the local cuisine.  We sang along to road trip tunes, watched out for bears and became experts at identifying good service stations.  We were surprised and delighted, afraid and exhilarated.  But most of all, we had fun!

We went out for a friend’s wedding and decided to make a trip of it.  Not knowing much about the region, and not doing a lot of planning ahead, we just bought a map, drew some lines on it and followed them!  Sometimes we deviated, sometimes we changed our course, but generally we plodded along, enjoying the view and soaking up New England, Quebec and New York State in the summer.

Over the next week or so I am going to share some stories from the road – we saw so much and brought back many memories to treasure.  Some time back I wrote a guest post on Crescendoh.com about travel being a form of beauty gathering.  This time I definitely came back with a suitcase full of colour and inspiration, and I can’t wait to spill out the contents and share them with you!

Have you been travelling lately?

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PS I discovered this very cool website where you can map your journeys, add images and video and then share them on Facebook: https://www.travellerspoint.com/

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Are you ready for your own adventure?

Life-changing”, “Revolutionary”, “Awe-inspiring”, “Transformative – just a few of the ways former participants have described the Do What You Love e-course.

Do you fancy some of that in your life? Do you want to get closer to identifying your true passion and finding a way to do what you love, for life? Then this is for you!

The Do What You Love e-course is open for registration now. The adventure begins on September 26 but places are limited so book now to secure your place. This is the last time it will run this year.

This is your chance to join a global tribe of like-minded people who will support and encourage you to find your way.

It could be the most influential six weeks of your life… Join now!

Introducing Photography Fortnight on Do What You Love!

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For the next two weeks this space will become a place for celebrating photography – and I hope you will stick around for the party!

I love photographs.  Memories captured, beauty preserved, promises unspoken.

My Dad is a trained photographer and apparently one of my ancestors was the first ever photojournalist!   I have been taking photographs for years, with all sorts of different cameras.  In the Do What You Love e-course go out and about in search of beauty and explore what kind of photographers we are.  This has made me reflect more on what kind of a photographer I am.  I am fascinated by the way the subject matter of my photos has changed hugely at different times in my life.

When I was younger I used to take pictures of everything (and often process them in my Dad’s dark room in our garage, marvelling at the magic as the images emerged in the developing solution). In my early twenties I travelled a lot on my own and lived abroad for several years – in this period I mainly took photos of landscapes and buildings.

Then I spent several years working for UNICEF (United Nations Children’s Fund) and found myself drawn to people’s faces, especially those of children in developing countries – and food (in street markets etc).

More recently I seem to take more random pictures of details – my feet, textures, the sky – and I can’t stop taking pictures of flowers lately. Funny how it changes over time.

I am drawn to simple photos that show raw beauty – whether in the subject, the colour or the feeling of the image.

In the next two weeks I am going to share some of my favourite tips, along with interviews with fantastic photographers (Roxanne Krystalli, Christine Boyd and Xander Neal).

I hope you will also join in and share your own tips and tricks.  And if you fancy getting out and about a bit more with your camera this month, why not join Susannah Conway’s ‘August Break’?

So tell me, what kind of a photographer are you?

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PS If you want to start seeing the world in new ways, why not join the Do What You Love e-course.  Registration is open now!

Wandering contributions…

Wandering contributions... header[Image courtesy of Gypsy Girl’s Guide]

I am so excited and honoured to have been invited to join a tribe of inspiring women – including Christine Mason Miller, Boho Girl Denise Andrade, Marianne Elliott and Jen Gray – as a wandering contributor to the gorgeous Gypsy Girl’s Guide.

One of the most delicious sources of travel and life musings I have come across, Gypsy Girl’s Guide was one of the first blogs I ever read when I discovered this online creative world.

So now it feels so precious to be invited along for the ride by founder and talented photographer Alessandra Cave.

This is my first ever ‘column’, and today I posted my first contribution (here), musing on ‘Travelling Light’.  I would LOVE to hear your thoughts – so please do stop by and share how you travel these days…

Back by popular demand – the Do What You Love e-course is OPEN for registration!

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When I put the Do What You Love e-course out into the world for the first time at the beginning of the year I had no idea the impact it was going to have on participants – and on me.  Every day of the six-week class was a new adventure, offering new discoveries about myself and others, opening up in new ways and sharing stories, tools and inspiration.  It thrills me to think that more people are on their path towards doing what they love because of it.

And now, by popular demand, it’s back…  There are less than two weeks before class begins for the summer session on June 6.  The Do What You Love e-course will help you expand your comfort zone, nurture your playful spirit and feed your creative soul.  It will help you identify your passion, and work out what ‘doing what you love’ actually means for you.  Don’t miss out on this important opportunity – it might just change your life.  Register now!

Don’t just take my word for it – here are some thoughts from the community of like-minded souls from all over the world that benefitted from the class last time…

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By far the best e-course I have ever taken

“I was and continue to be floored by this course–it was so valuable. I felt like it helped me focus on me, my interests, my desires, and what was holding me back from those things. I was more painfully honest with myself than I have been in years, but I also allowed myself to play more than ever. Since joining the course, I’ve gone paragliding, quit my steady but unfulfilling job, participated in a 5k charity run, met tons of new people and basically blossomed into a new person. I feel like the course will continue working it’s magic for ages. It has a killer curriculum covering all the bases. I’m so absolutely pleased I chose this as a way to start turning my life around.”

“This class was liberating and awe inspiring.”

In the moments when I have down time, ALL I think about is this course – where it’s leading me, what I can do to bring more fun, creativity, and passion into my life, and it’s JUST what I need.”

My heart is bursting. How empowering and inspiring it is to share our stories and know that we aren’t alone and that there is always a way through.”

“Highly recommend to anyone on the brink of making important changes in their life!”

“Can’t believe it was just a 6-week course. I feel like a different person.”

 “I loved that this 6 weeks course made me put aside this time only for myself, away from all the noise in my life, and to really reflect on what I am doing, who I am and what direction I want to go in. During the course I got the tools to do just that.”

“This eCourse is a sparkling combination of creative projects, inspiring interviews and compelling worksheets. Beth has done a magnificent job of creating a fresh approach to uncovering what you love. Even if you know what you love, you’ll discover fresh insights as you go on this soulful adventure.”

“For 6 weeks it felt like a companion on a very exciting journey I hadn’t been able to take by myself.”

“Wow, wow and wow again.”

“Everything is changing because of this.”

In a post-ecourse survey 95% of participants said they were more focused and clear about what ‘doing what they love’ means to them. 100% of respondents said the e-course had had an impact on them and made them think about the changes they need to make in their lives.

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You could be saying similar things in just a few weeks –

register now to join this online adventure and

find your path towards doing what you love

Kindness

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The kindness of people in this online world never ceases to amaze me.  This week the postman arrived with a surprise parcel all the way from Spain – it was a beautiful handmade apron from Judit Laboria, embroidered with my name on (by her mum!), and decorated with a gorgeous flower made from a zip.

Judit chose the colours to match the palette of this website, and sent it as a thank you gift having participated in the first Do What You Love e-course.  Wow.  I have to say I had a little tear in my eye when I opened it.  That someone so far away would take the time to make and send something so precious just for me, as a result of the e-course – amazing.  I will treasure it.

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I have been blown away by the feedback and energy of the class on the Spring session of the e-course, which recently finished.  It was an incredible journey for all of us – one participant said “Everything is changing because of this“, another described it as “by far the best e-course I have ever taken“, and it seems to have had a real impact on many more, helping them become much clearer about the road to doing what they love.

I am excited to be running the Summer session from June 6 for six weeks – registration has opened here.  I hope you will join us for an adventure of your own – using the tools, diving into the community and soaking up all the inspiration to help you do what you love, for life.

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Here is what participants from the Spring session of the Do What You Love e-course have been saying about it…

Wow, wow and wow again.”

“Can’t believe it was just a 6-week E-course. I feel like a different person.”

By far the best e-course I have ever taken

“I was and continue to be floored by this course–it was so valuable.  It has a killer curriculum covering all the bases. I’m so absolutely pleased I chose this as a way to start turning my life around.  I feel like the course will continue working it’s magic for ages.”

Do What You Love – the e-course

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Can you honestly say you are you doing what you love? Wouldn’t you like to be able to say that, and mean it?

This online adventure will take you step-by-step on a path to discovering your true passion, and finding a way to make it a greater part of your everyday life.

In six weeks you will expand your comfort zone, nurture your playful spirit and use this to feed your creative soul. You will travel this path with a community of like-minded people from across the world, sharing your stories, forging new connections, and inspiring each other.

Based on the principle that adventure fuels creativity, a rich combination of thought-provoking posts and stories will be shared, along with journal prompts, photo exercises, tools to help you on your path and fun weekly missions.

And we have an incredible line up of interviews for you – some really amazing people will share their stories along the way, to challenge and inspire you.  (Stay tuned for the interview line-up announcements here soon – they will blow your socks off!)

If you throw yourself into it, you will emerge more confident, more curious and much more likely to end up doing what you love.

This will be like no other class you have ever taken. Can you afford not to join us?

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Sign up here for the Spring 2011 edition of the Do What You Love e-course which will run six weeks Monday March 14 to Saturday April 23 2011. We have curious souls signed up from three continents across the world and an AMAZING line-up of interviews (to be announced soon). Join us for this adventure.

Why do you need this right now?

 

Chicago city magic

Having fun with my photos from Chicago, the last stop on my recent US adventure. 

They aren’t my normal style. What do you think?

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The top two are of Anish Kapoor’s amazing sculpture ‘Cloud Gate’ in Millennium Park. The third is of a smaller sculpture in the same park (‘Sacred Rock’, part of a special exhibition by contemporary Chinese artists), and the last picture was taken at Chicago O’Hare International Airport.

If you like any of them, I’d be interested to know which and why…

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More posts from my recent US adventures:

New York part 1

New York part 2

Cape Cod

Squam Lake

New York part 2: My kind of city

In this penultimate post about my recent trip to the US, I want to share some images of this captivating city.  There is an incredible air of possibility about this place, and so much to feast your eyes on…

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If you are a fan of NYC, what is it that draws you to it?

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More posts from my recent US adventures: