ADVENTURE + ALIVENESS Page 18 of 22

Am I really turning 35?

Posted on 2012-05-05 at 9:00 am.

It’s my birthday tomorrow. I’ll be 35. That rounds up to 40! It’s half way to 70! But what does it mean anyway? It’s just a number, right? On my ‘big’ birthdays (the ones ending in ‘0’ or ‘5’) I like to look back over my life so far and think about all the happiest moments of each year. So much has changed since the last time I did this at 30 (when I spent my birthday lying in a hammock next to the sea drinking gin & tonics in a tiny hotel north of Mumbai, India, before going for curry and champagne with friends!)

Since then I have fallen in love, started two businesses, changed industries, moved house four times, and visited countries in every corner of the world. They have been years lived at a fast pace, always on the move, always in search of adventure, knowledge and beauty.

As I sit here in Kyoto, perhaps my favourite city in the world, on the eve of my 35^th birthday, I am trying to decide how I would like the next five years to be. I have no idea what path I will follow, or what will unfold, but I know I want to slow down a little, breathe more deeply, sit up and enjoy the view. I wonder what is in store…

Let’s see, shall we? Cheers!

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I’m on a big adventure in Japan right now. If you fancy an adventure of your own why not join me for the Do What You Love e-course? Shake things up, expand your comfort zone, nurture your playful spirit and feed your creative soul. Identify your passion and make it a greater part of your every day life! Find out more and register here. But hurry, class starts soon!

Night traveller

Posted on 2012-05-03 at 9:00 am.

Written by Beth Kempton

Have you ever taken a night bus? It’s not the most comfortable way to travel – you have to sit in a chair for many hours (obviously) and even if you manage to sleep, you get woken every couple of hours at service stations when the driver stops for a rest. But even so, I kind of like the night bus.

Everyone is on a journey somewhere, heading to the big smoke for different reasons – perhaps for a job interview, to visit friends, to start a new life.

I love pressing my face against the steamed up window, watching the other night traffic whizzing past.

I love sitting in the dark with my iPod on, listening to Adele and thinking of random things.

And I love coming into the city at dawn, riding past the majestic Imperial Palace, seeing the capital wake up.

If you haven’t taken a night bus lately, why not try it? It really feels like an adventure.

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Quiet in the mountains

Posted on 2012-04-18 at 7:08 am.

Written by Beth Kempton

There was nothing but the sound of a waterfall, the wind in the trees, and our steps on the the rock as we climbed up the forested mountainside to Yamadera, a temple built close to the sky.

The last of the winter snow hugged the temple buildings, and the sun peeped through the clouds.

Up and up and up we climbed, hundreds of steps, thousands of breaths, drinking in fresh air and carrying big smiles.

We passed ornamental stone creations adorned with paper fortunes.

We met this little fella, and stopped for a chat.

On this weekday afternoon the place was deserted, and we were left free to climb and roam, and claim this wooden platform as our own. From high up on the rocks we stared out over the valley and soaked up the silence.

I love this place.

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If you fancy an adventure of your own, why not join me for the Do What You Love e-course? Find out more and register here!

Old haunts, new memories

Posted on 2012-04-06 at 1:00 am.

Written by Beth Kempton

When you have lived somewhere for a while, at an impressionable time in your life, it always holds special memories. Coming back to see my old apartment in Shinjuku was both strange and comforting. I lived there for nearly three years over a decade ago. The nearby shrine hadn’t changed, and the corner house still had a tiny flourishing roof garden, but the new houses that had popped up here and there left me temporarily disoriented. That’s where I used to do my laundry… that’s where I used to go for delicious grilled fish and miso soup… that was the massage place open until midnight which brought welcome relief after long days in the Japanese office…

These past few days in Tokyo have felt important for reflecting on good times past, but preparing the way for new memories to be made. I hope sharing each special place and its stories with my man has helped him see a little of the country that captured my imagination many years ago, but also paved the way for all the adventures to come…

Have you visited any old haunts recently?

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If you fancy your own adventure, why not join me for the Do What You Love e-course? This very special online adventure is designed to help you identify your passion and make it a greater part of your everyday life. Class starts on May 14. Find out more and register here.

Urban oasis

Posted on 2012-04-04 at 1:00 am.

Written by Beth Kempton

A few hundred metres from the bustle and chaos of Takeshita-dori, the main hangout of funky teenagers in Harajuku, Tokyo, lies a true urban oasis.

Meiji Jingu is a beautiful imposing shrine nestled amongst a forest of green, right in the middle of one of the busiest parts of the city.

Your pace slows, and you start to breathe more deeply with every step away from the street, into this sacred place.

As you wash your hands at the entrance, you feel like you are washing away the inevitable city dust.

As you watch others step forward and give their offerings, your own mind calms a little.

Why not take yourself away from the hustle and bustle and find somewhere quiet to escape to today?

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In the city

Posted on 2012-04-03 at 4:05 am.

Written by Beth Kempton

Several months ago we decided to make a big move to Japan. It seemed so far away back then but now it is here, and we are here.

First stop the capital, Toyko, where I spent three years working long hours in an exciting job 10 years ago.

Glass, concrete and neon.

Clean streets and fast trains.

Cool design shops and anything-goes fashion. Sweet old men who randomly offer you gifts of hard boiled eggs.

Drinking with old friends. Noodles at midnight. This is Tokyo, and it is good to be back.

PS All this week I will be bringing you glimpses of this city that I once called home…

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Gone adventurin’

Posted on 2012-03-24 at 9:00 am.

Written by Beth Kempton

(Image by NavyBlur)

Our stuff is in storage. The out-of-office/studio is on. The to-do list is done. We are off.

My man and I are heading East for a big adventure. We are going to spend a few months in Japan – slowing down, looking, listening, exploring, (dare I add ‘retreat researching’??) and I am so thrilled. These past few months have been crazy, and the past few weeks have been nothing short of chaos. But they have all been leading to this moment when we step onto that plane, head into the skies and fly in the direction of adventure.

See you in Tokyo!

Beth

PS. If you fancy a very different kind of adventure of your own, I have just relaunched the Do What You Love e-course which will be brought to you for the very first time from Japan! Class begins on May 14. There’s a special early bird discount if you sign up before the end of March. See here for more details and to register!

The Do What You Love e-course… back by popular demand!

Posted on 2012-03-21 at 9:00 am.

Written by Beth Kempton

For the past couple of months I have received a lot of emails asking when the Do What You Love e-course is running again, as it has been tucked away quietly since the last run of it back in November.

Picture of me by Tiffany Kirchner-Dixon

It is all about adventure, identifying your passion and making that a bigger part of your every day life. But for the past few months I feel like I have been padlocked to my desk getting lots of other things out into the world.

It would have felt wrong to run the course when I was holed up in my attic office, but now Spring is on its way, I have a plane ticket it my hand and I am about to head off on my own big adventure to Japan. It feels like the right time to run it again. Won’t you join us?

The Do What You Love adventure will begin on May 14, and for the first time ever will be brought to you from the Far East! It is going to be very special indeed… find out more below or register here (there’s a discount if you sign up by the end of March!)

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.

This will be like no other class you have ever taken. Can you afford not to join us? Find out more and register here.

This used to be my studio…

Posted on 2012-03-13 at 1:59 pm.

Written by Beth Kempton

100 boxes and bags in storage, empty rooms, suitcases ready, and a huge to-do list still staring at me, but slowly, slowly, it is starting to feel like we are actually going on this big adventure…

It’s like I don’t have time to get emotional about moving but I am sure it will hit me when I eventually slow down in a couple of weeks’ time and stop to sip green tea under a cherry tree somewhere, gentle blossoms falling all around me… ahh can’t wait (although I actually can as I have far too much to do in the coming days…)

Please forgive me if the blog feels a little empty, like my studio, over the next couple of weeks. I promise it will be worth the wait once I have found a new temporary home somewhere in the Far East and I can get back into sharing photos and telling stories of far-away adventures!

Paris story

Posted on 2012-02-28 at 9:28 pm.

Written by Beth Kempton

Stole away from my desk for a little trip to Paris a week ago, visiting my first ever trade show and trying out my new camera. It was just what I needed, even though it was for ‘work’. I also had the most wonderful crazy serdipitous happening occur, but more about that another day.

All this week I am going to share some photo stories of my wanderings. Forgive me for my lack of words this week – running, running, running – and anyway, Paris doesn’t need words…