Our Whatever Day...Let's Get Real

 Aftyn here. This post will have nothing to do with Europe, and everything to do with life. 

Yes, bad things have happened to us - both before we left, and since we've been on this trip. My step-sister had brain surgery. I lost my mother. Before that I lost my Grandma. I had a bad allergic reaction in Lithuania, then got some sort of sinus infection and was pretty sick for about a week. I left a hat in Lithuania, Tim left his neck pillow in Vienna, we lost our switch on the bus to Zurich, and we got pick-pocketed in Paris. My family has recently suffered through a lot of sad and scary circumstances, and I was far away for much of it, unable to help in any practical way. This morning I was feeling so defeated, and I just wanted to come home.

But then I started thinking about the bigger picture. What is "home"? It doesn't really matter where I am, or what I have lost - because I'm alive. And as long as that is true I must keep in mind that this life is just a brief experience of my existence. You see, I hold a deep belief that my home isn't on any Continent, Planet, or Physical Plane. It's in the fibers of the hat I lost. It's in the cells of the man who picked Tim's pocket. It's in the tree we sat under this afternoon. It's in the breath of the people sitting next to us at Starbucks. It's in the grassy hills of Zurich, in the stones of the castles in Warsaw, in the dirt in my parents backyard, in the mountains of Oregon, in the clouds floating over the Earth, in the stars burning across our universe, and so many more places that I can only dream of. My spirit is unkillable, and I will forever be a part of something much bigger than what I can see right now. 

As I type this, this world seems to have fallen into complete chaos. Aside from all the trauma I've personally experienced lately, in the United States we are being lead down a dark path by a fascist presidential administration. Every day we see a story in the news that breaks our hearts. People are suffering, and we feel so helpless to do anything to change it. Especially from "across the pond".

I am frightened for our Country, and for our Humanity. I hold this fear, and try with all my might not to allow it to turn into hate. Because I am a lover. Each breath I breathe is teaching me that I can't keep this fear in my heart. My purpose on this Earth is to learn from and serve others, because there simply isn't anything else worth doing while I'm here. It's hard. It hurts. It makes me feel very tired and sometimes I just want to sleep forever. But I'm awake...

...Are you?

Love from - literally - everywhere. <3