As you read this month’s bulletin, I will be embarking on a month’s trip to Vietnam and Cambodia with Overseas Adventures Travel (OAT). I’m excited and a bit anxious, juggling the things that need doing here while deciding what is essential for such a long adventure.
I’ve traveled a fair amount in my life, always benefiting from the experience. I believe we are enlarged, inspired, challenged, and surprised by what we discover about the world and ourselves when we encounter different cultures.
As an older person – I will celebrate my 81st birthday in Vietnam – I am reassured by traveling with a company known for providing excellent care and support for older people. I can count on them for the many details related to air travel, hotels, meals, and daily excursions. OAT creates community among each group, and I feel confident I will meet interesting people who might actually become friends over time.
My basic approach is to be curious about everybody I meet, knowing most of us like sharing our lives and stories with new people. Each conversation can provide a chance to deepen connection and learning.
All the advance guidance and planning emphasize the need to be open to surprises and potential. The required Travelers Insurance will cover the unexpected events that can occur. The hefty fee is worth knowing that whatever happens, I will be cared for.
As my essay Don’t Despair suggests, we can be hopeful without being unrealistic. How we navigate difficult situations and old patterns is up to us. My favorite maxim – Open to Outcome, Not Attached to Outcome – is the ‘Way of the Teacher’ from Angeles Arrien’s book The Fourfold Way. I know my trip will offer ample opportunities to practice that. And I don’t have to leave home to be reminded about how it applies to my life as a whole!
As you can see below, this month brings us fully into the fall season with programs and events that offer new learning and experiences. For our October partnership with Town Hall, I look forward to my conversation with Ty Nolan. Their many experiences with grief, bereavement, and hospice care, as well as identities, are bound to be informative and engaging.
Meanwhile, I will be soaking in the wonders and flavors of Vietnam and Cambodia. I am looking forward to the food, which everybody reports as being fabulous. I’m definitely open to whatever shows up on my plate!
See you in November!
Rebecca
