Guest Post: Dad's first impressions

Ed. note: Dad landed on Friday morning, and has been a true trooper (trust me, this is not the worst alliteration you will read in this post) and hasn't shown many signs of jet lag yet. Here are his first impressions, in his own words, unedited. 

Since Michelle has been remiss regarding her Blog from Australia, today you get the perspective of a guest blogger.  That’s right, dear old Dad, aka Stephen, aka Papa Brodes is in the land down under bringing you new perspectives and probably more really bad puns.

Packing up

Every time I pack I realize just how much stuff I have an how little I really need. I'm planning on spending a month in San Francisco (my visa got delayed) and six months in Australia bringing only one suitcase and a backpack, as well as a laptop. I will still probably end up bringing too much stuff. That's the thing about stuff - it weighs you down and makes it harder to move around. I remember this every time I travel and forget about all the things I keep around my house for no apparent reason. One day perhaps I'll improve and actually throw things away, rather than just moan about putting it all in boxes. I'm doing a better job than I have in the past, but the idea of putting everything I own in boxes and suitcases is paralyzing.

I know from experience, though, that once I leave I won't think at all about any of the things I've left behind. I might long for the people and the places but none of the stuff is essential. Perhaps when I get back I'll pare down my possessions to 100 or 200 and emulate minimalist bloggers and people who make that a priority.

The issue I've always thought would hinder me is the lack of colorful options available when you cut your stuff. At that point it makes sense to wear only gray and black and decorate your home in a few colors, but that doesn't jive with my personality and has always interfered. I'm realizing that's a thin excuse and I should get a better one, or walk the talk and cut back to the essentials: some clothes, a cast iron pan, a computer, and some headphones. And all my glasses - beer just doesn't taste the same out of anything else. 

The mindfulness step

The program dining hall, classroom, and library are on the first three levels of the college guest house, and if you take the stairs all the way up you can sit on the roof in the sunshine and look at the mountains.

Because there are no western building codes here, one of the steps is a little bit taller than the rest. Since we walk up and down the stairs so many times a day, it's easy to notice the difference, but it's often hard to remember exactly where the step is. People stumble sometimes.

Tonight we had a program meeting to share our thoughts on things we were thankful for and things that blindsided us so far. Ed, one of the guys on the program, expressed his gratefulness towards the one step that's a little bit taller than the rest. He called it the mindfulness step because it forces him to think about what he's doing: walking up or down the stairs. I decided that's a beautiful way of looking at a stair I would otherwise trip over.

It also reminded me of two things I want out of this trip: I want to be fully present and involved in whatever I'm doing, and I want to look at situations in the best possible light. They're lofty, but it's better to remind myself all the time to get into that mindset. So I'm happy that the stairs are a little uneven, because it means I can pay attention to them.

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