Creating the world from the inside out.

I’ve spent the time between the years and the beginning of 2022 consciously taking time off. Intentionally away from the corporate outside world and offline from the daily online global village.

My days were created, filled with activities that nurtured my soul and calmed my mind. For example, gardening, grounding with the hands deep in the soil, planting, organic fertilizing, watering, and arranging new green members for the terrace garden.

An unexpected discovered plant shop stood for an early highlight of happiness and strongly felt high frequency the newborn 2022 had to offer. The very kind and well English spoken owner with his humble family live in a lovely cared, tastefully arranged, mentally healthy plant environment that looks more like an intimate Garden of Eden than a flower shop usually has to offer.

Plants are living things teaching us consistent growth, giving beauty without the need for the limelight, spreading happiness, but most of all are selflessly offering necessary oxygen as we do it with genuine compassion. And undoubtedly show gratitude for good caring, and growing then like wild and emerge stunning blossoms when treated right, nurtured with feeling, passion, plus a passionate green finger.

It’s no coincidence that theater actors or opera singers receive a bouquet on stage, flowers neutralize negative and provide fresh, new energy that protects after the performance however the critics might be.

Have told my brother who’s my trusted Tuk-Tuk (a motorized version of rickshaw) driver as well to ride me around into the unknown not too far blue.

A deep desire to enjoy what’s going on left and right along the road without having a schedule, appointment, or certain things on my agenda.

Taking time for and not pushing oneself and then living the day generously with no meetings or duty reminds me of Steve Miller Band’s classic Fly Like an Eagle.

Observe, discover, enjoy, don’t push or limit yourself, smile, and live the moment to the fullest without giving a single thought to interfere or permission to destroy it. And then share your happiness, insightful thoughts, and inner fulfillment with others.

It’s increased lively outside recently, feels good to see locals hungry for life, busy re-opening their shops and restaurants, active cleaning and shaping their offers in the convinced hope for guests and customers to come. Again.

What was taken for granted in the “before age” has fundamentally changed, got a new value of switching on survival mode, too deep is the impact of closed businesses and uncountable loss or lack of stable income for two long years.

My home office in Cambodia is near Angkor Wat, the biggest temple in the world that used to attract and guarantee predictable truck-loads of buses containing 2-3000 visitors a day. Year in, year out straight from the nearby airport to the ancient monument.

A never-ending stream of probably the longest crowd travelers from all over the world is more or less patiently lining up under the unforgiving sun has come to a full stop.

Including trying to find footage of ancient gods and exotic spirits by commonly fancy-touching weathered stone or hundreds of years old trees with their exposed huge roots unfolding right to the fingertips on 162 hectares.

Angkor Wat stands for the largest religious temple complex in the world, containing more than a thousand buildings. Founded and marvelous built by King Suryavarman II as a Hindu temple at the beginning of the 12th century and then converted to a Buddhist temple in the late same decade.

A stone, a hidden solid witness in the pocket that proofs “I was there.” A secretly hand-harvested “lucky” souvenir from sacred ground. Everywhere bright visibly signs it’s forbidden to pick up, that visitors shouldn’t touch anything. A silly, fancy, timeless temptation and amusement not only for kids, a victory of the ego at expense of anyone still to come. Other humans appear respectful and honor what is left, walk gently, and are mindful of the vast heritage of stunning wonders our world generously got to offer.

It would be the perfect timing to visit, no crowds of tourists or a sea of buses are blocking the eyesight and stunning panorama. An early morning gift when walking and meditating pretty alone only in the company of ancient gods protecting the sophisticated high-end architecture with its wide waterways vast telling of the Khmer Empire.

Still, USD 38-- entrance fee for foreigners only are (over-) charged and for sure, not on behalf of the patient, selfless spirits to set foot in and support the heavily touristic beaten area.

And have kept me on distance so far but closer to monasteries and peaceful, uncrowded small temples in the near countryside.

Buddhist monks, respectfully called “Ajarn” were educational teachers in former times and luckily still provide free schooling, meditation, function as mediators, give essential advice for the community in many questions and struggles of life. And supply needed medical treatment, ancient plant medicines, or physiological support for locals seeking help, are unable to afford a doctor or clinic.

I hardly drive anymore, have decided a long while ago to be trustworthy driven, to win time, to enjoy the ride by allowing my thoughts in free flow. Incredible how productive, what sources of inspiration, creative solutions appear when stopping to search for answers. An incredible curiosity seeing the world from the inside out with wide-open eyes. Picked-up impressions, eye-catchers of the very moment at the perfect timing, a situation happening in front of the eyes left and right the road. Or the amount of work that can be done while sitting in the rear but not behind the steering wheel.

Heaven is on the backseat of my Cadillac, let me take you there, yeah, yeah, Hot Chocolate had a hit ages ago. It easily can be a part of this described paradise aligning with my feelings and reflections. No Cadillac needed.

Just enjoying sitting in freedom without stress and breathing in unfiltered impressions of the colorful passing, never a dull moment landscape. We all should take consciously more time for activities nurturing ourselves without feeling guilty about not working or being on stand-by modus for some deserved free hours.

The different shades of rice fields are a meditation, inhaling a deep-sea of soul-calming green grounds, enhances to feel complete with nature and oneself. To breathe the moment filled with lust for life, and smile widely when exploring what richness new discovered locations hold in place.

Meeting humans never met before, curious and innocent eyes, and open minds. Being warmly welcome, genuinely accepted, and treated straight from the heart is one of the biggest gifts a human can receive in the foreign.

There is a family around the world, not just the own physical one, the very close humans we know the longest. Neighbors and the family of origin we can't choose.

“Walking is a virtue, mass tourism is a deadly sin”, Werner Herzog impactful mentioned not only once. When the journey just brought material souvenirs home with the fate of dusting abandoned on a shelf. Fading memories of faraway places already have been, set foot on. Comparing the weather, color of the sand of the beaches, and the size of shrimps at the lunch buffet offering all you can eat. But then returning home without any change of view, no dewy popped up insights, inner understanding, or an extended mindset through new impressions unseen places generously have in store.

Spending time alone, walking in solitude but not feeling lonely by following the own path, the direction the inner compass points is leading one mostly to oneself. Feels completely different than stepping in the footprints others have imprinted due to millions of guests who seem to have one big thing in common: To share a crowded mass tourism destination.

A suitable example of the outcome, a result of global mass traveling is Phang Nga, located in neighboring Thailand.

An eye-catching, wear-away rock sticking out of the sea, best known from the James Bond movie The Man with the Golden Gun. Roger Moore plays 007 versus Christopher Lee as the villain, master over the exotic rock bedded in a spectacular location.

A touristic magnet giving heavy evidence that several thousand of day trip travelers carried by countless boats & ships are generating several thousand of empty plastic water bottles from sunrise till sunset. Easy to imagine without being on-site how locals feel. And the environment, the close beach, quality of water & slow-growing coral reefs suffer. And the waste-management struggles.

I strongly think when creating a survey asking what most of us wish for 2022 and onwards the answer must commonly be: “Personal freedom to choose and space for individual growth & the own pace for tailored decisions to go for. Of course, good health and a virus-free daily existence!!, where an unruffled social life and convenient traveling are possible again.”

Mass tourism as we used to know it is going to be more and more replaced by consciously added value regeneration holidays for body, mind & soul.

Former travel patterns are increasingly seen as something from the past that wasn’t capable strongly enough to offer a lasting regeneration. A refreshed return to home, back to daily challenges, and demanding work.

Leading Airlines are already selling their biggest planes, knowing well that these won’t be that easy to sell out anymore, calculating that probably not enough sold passengers tickets to verify profit in new markets to come after the global travel restrictions impacted, smashed everything back to zero.

Somehow fundamental desires, a request on How & What a holiday for hard-earned money should offer and provide seem difficult to satisfy. Or impossible to afford timewise. And then found ourselves back to routine faster than we had chosen, planned, and booked the holiday destination.

Apart from, it always felt too short, also we tend to compare and prefer, to visualize better memories of previous trips. Or traveling on purpose to the same destination over n’ over again because we know it well, don’t have to orientate newly, feel familiar and safe.

There’s mostly not much time available to discover, to turn the own inside out when it comes to rest and recreation as an urgently needed exit.

To recharge, to nurture brain, heart & soul on a trip during two weeks but at the same time, thoughts appear that half of the annual holidays are gone by now. Not long enough for complete regeneration, a needed cutting break from daily life thinking patterns, brought along problems like overweight luggage and untold inner exhaustion in the handbag.

It’s well known that the recreation factor, the necessity for mind, body, and soul to relax, to let go and let loose to recharge the so-called inner battery. To break with daily routine, looping thoughts and ridiculous habits start from the 3rd week on.

Our body is our physical house, a clean mind, body & heart are crucial for a mentally and physically healthy & fulfilling life. We're portable via a ticket that offers access to breathe and to undo the luggage in approx. 10 hours at the other side of the globe. An inner trip feels, happens differently.

Till the soul arrives and stays closest to the heart it takes a bit longer, there’s no priority check-in but needed time to arrive emotionally and to settle mentally. I use meditation and long walks under city lights or best in nature, forests, and beaches when arriving at a new or different place. It helps to turn my world from the inside out, to live within, to calm down, to breathe in, and soak up the frequency of new surroundings, noises, and voices with a smile and open heart.

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