the magic word

Travel Montage from Jessica M. Brookes on Vimeo.

I've had the weirdest most magical and eye-opening few years of my life. Totally unexpected and rich with life's tapestry of stories, people and impressive encounters.

Recently I exchanged my travel diary (great for venting and reflecting) to a 'gratitude journal' where I write five things everyday that I am grateful for. Simple.

It really illuminates the little things in life that make one smile and reminds one to live with grace. I have found my first week of writing thank you's very magical and if you're reading this, wanted to say thank you to you too. 

we're all mad here

This is my friend's brother Sam Reynard driving at 100 mph on a motorcycle while his friend drinks a milkshake and sports a 'Saved by the Bell' t-shirt.

When I saw this years ago, I thought - Sam's cool.

I guess I was right. Since then Sam has set up an enterprise that teaches kids how to make their own films. It is called; Mad Hatters Film Camp with a goal to inspire others on the art of film and video production, tools they believe students can learn to express themselves and use as a powerful tool of communication.

Based in Sotogrande, Spain, students learn about story, character and from day one the course offers a hands on film experience. After two weeks, they leave with a number of short films and students then can enter the films into festivals around the world boosting their creative talents and hopefully starting a hobby or even a career in filmmaking.


Mad Hatter's Film Camp 2014 from sam reynard on Vimeo.

Based on previous camps, both the students and instructors have grown from their experience together and I asked Sam Reynard to share.

"I, for one, have learned a lot about myself through passing my knowledge onto the students. I hope this camp in later years expands into a world-wide film camp. Where we have students stay over for 2 weeks a summer to create all types of film media and learn the importance of film and video production in an online media world."

When I asked Sam, 'what makes a good Director?' he replied;
"I think someone who can share their vision with others, be a fair leader and work harder than anyone else on set has what it takes to be a good director. The rest is practice, practice and more practice!"

We live in a world where content and more content can occupy our lives online and offline. What a wonderful endeavour it is to learn to be a creator of content to share with others and empower kids to feel the same... perhaps with less war scenes and of course many more happy endings!

If you have any rug-rat Spielbergs in the making that need to hone their craft, get them to Mad Hatters Film Camp for a tea party with Sam. Hopefully they won't be returned covered in milkshake.

growing up is learning how to say goodbye.

Recently someone admired my minimalist lifestyle and commented on how liberating it must feel.

Granted, he is right. I am living out of a bag travelling the world with a sense of excitement and freedom that this lifestyle affords. I can wake up with inspiration to go anywhere and work to make it happen. Unless it's Pakistan. My Dad recently vetoed Pakistan. And sometimes I listen to him.

And this is how life has chosen to teach me and it's required a lot of work and letting go inside out. When Puki, my Spanish neighbour said as we sat outside the apple tree farm in Parvatti Valley India "Crecer es aprender a despedirse" (growing up is learning how to say goodbye) - I thought I knew what her profound words meant -but I had only just started to scratch the surface.

Leaving Sydney to travel the world is the most courageous thing I have ever done in my life. It was brought on by a huge shift and a break up. I knew I made the best decision for myself and for those I care for but there have been emotional consequences that I wouldn't want people to think one can escape by taking that leap and 'letting go'.

The truth is on this journey I have had to learn how to say goodbye. Arguably I left a lot; stability, security, a decent income, close friends, a good career and a beautiful home with paintings on the walls and good knives in the kitchen drawers. And I realised that I had feelings and meaning entangled in this home; in the people I love, the life I lead, gosh my bike, Jeremy, has a love for him so strong that I had him shipped across the globe to live in my Dad's shed! Now whenever I return to visit he gets a wash down, tyres pumped and apologised to profusely before going on a 'we are reunited again!' bike ride.

I do humbly feel I am much more peaceful, true and alive with a more open heart, but it came at the cost of some seriously difficult goodbyes that life did not warn me about. It sucks saying goodbye. The not knowing when next.

And people have stories through which they perceive themselves and the world around them, memories entangled in matter whether a photograph or precious memory and people, people who we care so much for we'd take a bullet for them... In the arm at least... no longer a call away. Or they are but, its harder.

When these are no longer present in life, I found on a human level, that one goes on a process of goodbyes and it can hurt surprisingly more than expected.

Our culture promotes stoicism and a "Keep Calm & Carry On" attitude without a conversation about grief or allowing one to embrace it or create space for melancholy and goodbyes. We shy around death and loss like it doesn't exist and its an awkward conversation. And yet this is a very real experience in life and a truism on its impermanence that we all have to experience. Unless of course you are Disney...

You have indeed felt a great loss, but love is a form of energy and it swirls all around us. The Air Nomads love for you has not left this world, it is still inside of your heart, and is reborn as new love. Let the pain flow away... - Guru Pathik (Avatar: The Last Airbender)

It helped me to see that we only grieve for what we love and I feel very grateful for the friends around the world who've been there or reached out, in their own way, when I needed to feel my way through it and shine some light through the cracks.

It was a process and a lot of heartfelt poetry has come from it... not a career I'd ever had in mind.

So yes, yes, yes, this lifestyle is so liberating and if life allows you to and you wish for it, I can't recommend the experience enough. You can be alive and tune in to spirit. Practically learn to be self-sufficient (campfires, foraging, fishing and hitch hiking), quieten the mind while trusting the heart... along with all the other happy surprises and adventures from around the world and beautiful people from different cultures. Tasty food. Inspiring experiences... But there may also be some heart break along the way and goodbyes that can feel rubbish...

We all have our own way of dealing with the pains of grief and separation, I can't offer a map for it, but I know hugs, tears and sharing helped me a lot. And perhaps on a beautiful transcendental level one might also see separation as one of life's greatest illusions and feel a little comfort in knowing that whatever it is you miss, deep down is always with you.

I think Bob Marley knew what he was singing about.