What more do I need to do? This question is top of mind as I prepare to travel to Greece next week. I’ll be there for Greek Easter and to study dance. My mind is definitely preoccupied with my packing list and tying up loose ends. I can get quite whipped up!
I’ve learned to be suspicious when my heart feels frenzied and grasping. Deep down I know that what I really need is not perfect travel gear.
What I really want to is feel at home wherever I go. At home in my body, and deeply connected to others and the whole of life.
This week I’ve been mulling over how theologian Teilhard de Chardin called this a longing for more-being. More-being goes beyond the tangible and material signs of well-being. More being expresses the movement towards becoming more fully oneself and part of the big oneness.
The point is the adventure.
I love how my friend talks about his brain cancer as a “health adventure.†It captures both the risk and a sense of excitement.
Right now I’m in touch with the part of me that doesn’t want too much adventure on my trip. Yet I am also curious about what I might discover if I lean into adventure. What if I try asking someone “How do you do?†in Greek even if I might not know what to do with their response?
Anything can be an adventure: figuring out what’s for dinner, parenting, aging, making art, or healing. We need the spirit of adventure especially when we are facing uncertainty.
Expanding into something more.
The whole point of seeking out the adventure of travel is to connect with something more. More to life than my daily grind. More ways of seeing the world.
There is always something more that can be done on a trip. I have an endless to-do list at home too.
To return to the cancer analogy, there is always one more protocol, healing, herb, shaman, or mushroom that has the potential to bring healing. It’s crazy-making to chase them all.
Another friend has pursued three different medical treatments for her ovarian cancer and none of them have been effective. It’s been very disappointing.
Meanwhile there is a steady stream of friends visiting her house. She is so delighted for the first time in her life to really take in her friends’ love. She feels more at home in life and in the universe than ever before.
She reminds me of what experiencing more-being looks like. She can keep moving into a fuller sense of being-ness no matter how the latest type of chemo works.
Being with the cosmic adventure.
The universe has evolved from clouds of gas into stars, galaxies, planets, and life. It can be described as an evolution into more and more being. More being is the edge of evolution. It is the biggest adventure!
As I finish packing I’m giving myself this pep talk:
- Lean into the excitement of adventure.
- Follow the hunger for more-being, noticing what brings more connection.
May your life be filled with the spirit of adventure. May your hunger for a richness of being guide you through vulnerability and uncertainty into love.
With love,
emily
The hunger for more being is a spiritual hunger. I can help you build a nourishing spiritual practice to sustain you on the adventure. Learn more about dance and qigong as spiritual practices.
You don’t need to adventure alone. I offer individual qigong healing sessions that activate the wisdom of your heart and use your creativity as a healing force.
Thank you to the Next Step Fund, administered by the Metropolitan Regional Arts Council and funded by the McKnight Foundation, for making this trip to study in Greece possible.
