Back in the States with a journal filled with many good memories. I have come back a different person and a couple sparks inside me have been lit, yoga/stretching and a little bit crazier, hahaha.

Life is a journey and it is great learning and experiencing new things, which will have a lasting impact on your life for the better. Europe was a trip back to the simple life, away from my cell phone, computer for most days. Resorting back to most basic animal activities, eat, sleep and move. The trip was filled with many laughs and small things from weird toilets to farting, crazy driving to girls, but it was the unique people and the things I learned about myself, internally, that was special about this trip.

Longdistance skating is not for everyone and by no means is it a vacation, hahaha. Longdistance skating is very demanding mentally and physically, more than you would think. I have been on 2 long-distance skating trips and I have heard about 2 others, and for every trip there is always someone who breaks down and always drama. The very thought of such a trip can get anyone excited but after the 1st day it becomes very clear that this is going to be a lot of work and there is lots of time to over-think and drive yourself crazy if you are a part of the support team.

For those of us that like to be active constantly, and I do mean constantly, it is very rewarding and everyday is meditating. The constant exertion transfers all your worries, bad energy into the air, leaving you most of the time with a clear head and a fast beating heart. It is such a mind blowing experience when you get into this physical state where your breathing is very calm and relaxed and you feel your chest and your heart is beating so darn fast, it just doesn’t seem right but it so true.

Personally it is always very satisfying being connected with nature and being surrounded by the constantly moving outdoor air. I am not sure if you have felt this but just sitting inside your house with the stagnate air and then walking outside, it is a world of difference, it is like you can breath all over. Waking up to the sunlight, rather than to an alarm, is the world. You wake up with the sun and go to bed when the sunsets per say. It is such a rewarding feeling going to bed being genuinely tired, not going to bed because crap I got to wake up early, but because you are beat. Highway traffic, to drunk people talking loudly at night, it was nice being in a tent and just being surrounded by the stars, fresh air, and some good old camping farts.

One thing that was quite simple and new to me and I never had to think about before was saying that I was from America. In the US when someone asks you where you are from you say, “California”, “Virginia”, etc… but in Europe I was saying America and it was just weird saying that. It made me feel foreign which was a new experience because I had never been foreign before and I liked it.

Language is such a powerful tool and you can’t grasp its total power until you go somewhere and it is completely useless. Of course in my life I have run across people that don’t speak English but that was never a big problem. For some reason it just might have been the shear number of conversations I tried to start with girls that didn’t speak English that made it so funny and annoying. It is such a frustrating feeling seeing a cool girl and trying to talk to her and getting as far as, “Do you speak English?” “No.” I mean of course I could tell the girl, “Hi”, or “Thank you very much,” if I want to be fancy but that’s my limited restaurant talk. So what else was there to do than to resort to go old fashion hand signals and movement. Hand signals and movement are universal and that makes them powerful. I led 2 French girls in Yoga that spoke very limited English and ended up giving one of them a dirty monster shirt as a gift in which I communicated to her with hands signals, it stunk like hell and she better wash it. No matter what language you speak being active and communicating through movement works.

On the trip I meet 2 people who have changed my life, Jesus and Rob.

Jesus is a yoga instructor from Spain with a long gotti dyed purple and I caught him doing a headstand in a gazebo. Naturally I had to go over because one headstand lover to another we had to meet. He showed me some new poses and stretches and then the following morning we met up again for more yoga as well as the next morning. For some reason it just all clicked, a spark inside me that has always been there in the back caught on fire and every day since that day, I can’t stop stretching, doing yoga and rolling around. It has become a part of my life, and it is a beautiful cycle because every day you can stretch a bit further and everyday you feel a little lighter and in tune with your body. I know if I keep this up and develop it further my life will be better and more fulfilled because of it. If I could pass anything along to you all I would say start off by doing simple stretches in the morning, stretching releases energy that makes you feel amazing. Second try sitting up straight, shoulders back, head tall, abs in and breathe, do this for 15 minutes or while watching TV and it will blow your mind how hard it is. Yoga does not have to be boring there are tons of cool poses and routines, make it your own.

I talked about Rob in our last newsletter, he is biking/skating across the world solo. Rob was fascinating to me because I love crazy free people, hahahaha, a traveler that is not doing the norm and going solo on a life changing adventure. Just the fact that Rob has been traveling for over a year blows my mind. From being on long distance skate trips I know how much one can learn and experience just in 1 month and to be doing this over a year and still going strong, I can’t even explain the level Rob is at, amazing. Rob had this glow about him and it was contagious. He had raw courage and it all made sense to me and I could see a bit of myself in him. The courage and the energy that I saw in him has released the same courage and energy in me that I have always had but now it is time to take it to the next level. I have the courage and desire to take a journey alone with just a backpack and it shall be done. I can’t explain why in words or the feeling, all I know is it has got to be done, I can feel very slightly the effect it will have on me.

Well folks, my deep ranting is over. I hope some of you understand, others may not. I had fun and I am inspired.

Big hug and kiss to Mo Mo, Fletch, and Bam, who made this trip happen and I shall be seeing them again. Beatswalkineurope.com

Adam C.