Photo by skitzitilby/Feature Photo by pedrosimoes7

How often I forget that although my heart is young, my body isn’t. My weak ankle turns, reminding me how once I hopped, skipped and jumped through Calgary, Jaipur and downtown Aswan. Today, high curbs are my Katmandu. Our planet is a cook book and years of sampling its secrets has taken a toll on my midriff.

I carry the physical traits of the Wilcox women, but my wanderlust comes from the men folk. Their foreign travels were done in the name of War. Great Granfer Baker fought in the Sudan. Great Granny had never heard of London let alone Africa.

Great Granfer’s son fought in Gallipoli, convalesced in Alexandria and on the island of Malta. His journal means more to me than gold when I used it as a guidebook holidaying in Valletta in my twenties where I literally followed his steps. The poppies waving in the breeze along my path were borne from the seeds of the poppies he passed.

My father fought in Burma, was a POW in Changhai. Tears caught my throat when many years later I stood where he almost died in Singapore.

He stood with the British Army in Israel when they were handed their Mandate in 1948. When I voiced an interest in visiting Israel in the seventies, my mother was totally against it. My father told me to go.

“The Jewish are the friendliest people I know,” he said as he gave me a handful of addresses, just in case!

He served in India for many years and loved the country with a passion. I asked him once “Why?” He had no words for me other than to say it was a country that buries itself deep in the soul. He died before I managed to visit, and I never had a chance to share my own infatuation with him.

Photo by M@ruteclea

Travel to me is as gin to an addict. In my twenties, thirties and forties, I trekked solo to thirty two countries. My thirst could not be quenched, but I am slowing down now. Age and money supersede my desire to travel.

In my head, I can still climb the Himalayas and backpack down any river in the world. At 54, though, my back aches from chopping wood for our wood burning stove. My spine shouts at me after a day planting potatoes and other veggies. We have money to pay the bills and put food on the table but not to travel.

“Where shall we go next?” I ask my partner Paul, who ponders awhile before replying “Tunis.” Out comes the photo album and a bottle of Don Mendo red. I look at the photo of myself and a camel at the edge of the Sahara and am reminded of my egg timer.

“We’ll go places again,” he says thoughtfully, unable to answer when I ask when.

You twenty-somethings of today stand at the edge of the world. You can visit Patagonia, a place we didn’t even know existed. You can canoe the Amazon. A teen in south London thirty years ago had as good a chance of going to the moon. And with a fistful of dollars, you can go anywhere, and when the pocket runs bare, you can tend bar or shear sheep to pay your way.

I don’t doubt that you have your challenges, but they are more easily faced when you are twenty or thirty than when you are fifty. I envy the young people of today.

I visited my mum in London recently. She still lives in the same house where she grew up. I took her out for walks in her wheelchair, and as we went along, she spotted things like blades of grass springing through the pavement, an early crocus, an unusual air conditioning box outside a building. She noticed a lady with a hem falling down.

She encouraged me to see simple, every day things differently. Thus, I saw the things that connect. I saw my own area with new eyes.

Travel isn’t just a fortnight kayaking down the Amazon. It can be a day right outside my door. At 54, I must leave my youth behind and adjust to the maturity of being a golden oldie. The adventures are there; they are just a little different.

My egg timer fills not with sandy particles but with the all the travel experiences that have enriched my life.

COMMUNITY CONNECTION

How do you define travel? Has this definition changed over the years? Share your answer with us in the comments below.

Photo by tanakawho

 
There’s something irresistibly satisfying about checking off an item on our to-do list. It’s the feeling of productivity, accomplishment and the knowledge you’ve freed up an afternoon to do something fun, like watch soaps in your pajamas…or get more work done.

Doing it wrong. Photo by Candice Walsh

But most of us seem to keep lists for everything, and the compulsion borders on obsession. In fact, take this conversation between Matador Life’s editor Leigh Shulman and I which exemplifies the insanity of list-makers:
 

 Leigh: I came to the realization that I need to update my to-do list and separate it into four lists for each of my main projects. If someone would pay me to update my own to-do list, I could make a full time job out of it.

 Candice: I’m the same way, lists written everywhere. My friend once told me I should write a list of reasons why I like making lists.

While browsing through a bookstore the other day, I came across a book titled Listography. The whole idea is actually based on the website, where people can sign up for “life in lists.” There’s everything from “people who have changed my life” to “websites with the best animals.” My only question is how did I not find this site earlier?

Weekend Wish List. Photo by Carina Port

Then there’s the curious question of what our lists say about us. What do we place at the top? Why do we prefer handwritten vs digital, or vice versa? Perhaps the following will enlighten.

 
The Digital List

Pros
-You’re being environmentally friendly
-Quick and easy editing
-The ability to update and keep track of your list via email, so it’s with you almost always
-Store a list on your phone, complete with reminder alerts to keep you on your toes
-The satisfaction of deleting tasks entirely
 
Cons
-They lack personal touch
-If you switch back and forth between computers, things get complicated
-You can’t express your creativity through doodling
 

New Years Resolution list of short and long term goals. Photo by Susan Forshner

The Handwritten List

Pros
-You can stick it in a backpack or purse and carry it anywhere
-If you have an affinity for stationery, fancy pens are a bonus

Photo by JoAnna Haugen

-You can keep all the lists in a journal
-Striking out a task with a flourish of the wrist is fun

Cons
-They’re easily misplaced
-Paper causes unnecessary clutter
-You’ll inevitably start a dozen different lists and start sticking them around your workspace

(And yes, I’m aware those were lists.)

Some websites even like to capitalize on our OCD behavior by offering spreadsheets and organizational tools for download, such as Productive Flourishing and Four Hour Work Week. These websites encourage being aware of your goals, setting the bar high, and getting stuff done. Productive Flourishing even offers “momentum coaching,” a process meant to generate new ideas and develop brainstorming methods. What does all this say about list-makers? We’re brilliant, obviously. Sometimes we just need a push.

Community Connection

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.
 

Feature by MiiiSH. Above by enfad

I remember sitting there, waiting for the instructor to begin my first yoga class. I wasn’t sure what to expect, was apprehensive about whether or not I’d be able to physically complete the poses — called asanas — and wondered if my body could handle it.

Now, almost twenty years later, I realize my concerns were for nothing. In fact, yoga teaches you how to feel discomfort, walk into situations where you don’t know what you’re doing and how to move your way through life with greater ease. This is what I’ve learned.

All Bodies Are Beautiful

Have you ever taken an Ashtanga class? I don’t mean ashtanga-based, but the real deal hard core ashtanga series.

It’s non-stop movement from asana to asana, and each pose requires lots of jumping, lifting, extreme balance and strength.

As you make your way through this grueling class, you find yourself marveling at how the bodies in the room move. You stop judging, noticing extra flesh or worrying what other people think and instead start to find extra space in your joints and marvel at the strength in your muscles. When you walk out, you will literally feel a greater confidence in the way you feel, stand and are.

Sometimes You Fall On Your Ass

Everyone looks ridiculous at some point while in yoga class, and chances are, you’ll end up falling many, many times. Try tree pose, crow pose or peacock, all of which ask you to balance precariously on some body part or another. In the same way, you’ll make mistakes at work, yell needlessly at your partner and forget to pay your health insurance bill.

Photo by Lululemon

It’s going to happens sometimes, maybe often, and the sooner you get used to it, learn how to laugh through it, the happier you’ll be.

You Can’t Do Everything

Fifteen years of practice, and I still cannot do a full back bend from standing. I’ve tried, I’ve done preparatory stretches to make my back more limber. I’ve tried abdominal strengthening postures to develop the necessary strength. Yet it still hasn’t happened for me.

I know one day I will eventually do it, but even so, there will be another pose, something else I won’t be able to complete. Yoga always presents you with another challenge.

You Achieve Your Goals Faster When You Don’t Force Things

We live in a world where we’re supposed to struggle and constantly move forward, but sometimes it’s better to just let your mind and body rest.

Try a seated forward bending pose. You sit legs straight in front of you and reach gently toward your toes until you feel the stretch. Now, if you attempt to make your body move more deeply into the pose by pushing and straining, you’re more likely to hurt yourself or get discouraged than reach past your ankles.

Instead, just sit in one place and breath for a slow count of twenty. I promise, by the time you reach your final number, you will be reaching more deeply than when you began. Often, farther than you thought you could go.

Consistent Practice Is More Important Than the End Goal

You’ve probably noticed I refer to yoga as a practice.

Photo by Axel Buhrmann

That’s because it’s meant to be something you do every day. Same applies to your life. Are you frustrated with your boss? Do you wish you didn’t watch so much TV at night? Would you like to take a dance class, but don’t know when, where or how?

Do just a bit today and again tomorrow, and you’ll find the effects cumulative. Over time, you stand a little taller, breath a little deeper and perhaps face the rest of your life with more confidence. You realize you have no where in particular to go, you’re already exactly where you are and need to be.

COMMUNITY CONNECTION:

Share with us the lessons and benefits you’ve found in your yoga practice. Or if you don’t yet have one and would like to, search for the perfect yoga retreat or begin a vipassana meditation practice. In the meantime, here’s some great advice from Christine Garvin to help you survive the holidays with a little extra calm.

Feature photo by Aperte. Above photo by Bandita.

Someone always wants something. “Mommy, I can’t find my shoes.” Is the article done yet? Lord, I really should get to the gym today. You have a lot to do. There’s always a lot on your list. There will probably always be a lot on your list.

And that is why those dishes remain in the sink, mocking you. Worst part? The second you clean them, they immediately begin to multiply. Like laundry. Like dirty floors. Clean is only the first step on the way to dirty.

But dishes still have to be done. This is how I do them.

FIRST: I put on a pair of thick rubber gloves, to protect yourself from pruney fingers and scalded skin.

SECOND: Turn on the music. Make sure it’s something that really gets you going.

Oh, you’re telling me you don’t have any great music for that. Take a moment to explore music from around the world. Stack your ipod with fresh beats.

Do away with your excuses and turn on your favorite music, loud.

This is no time to worry about permanent ear damage. Stop thinking about your deadlines. If the baby cries, you won’t be able to hear her anyway. It’s only fifteen minutes. This is as good a time as any to give yourself permission to stop worrying about every other thing in your life.

Then I begin. Water on hot hot hot because that scrapes of the muck most quickly. Wet everything down, start scrubbing. It’s just you, music and dishes.

By now you should be dancing around the kitchen, trying the latest move you learned in belly dancing class. Oh, sorry, you haven’t been? Maybe now is the time to start? You know you’ve always wanted to try belly dancing.

Eventually I flip off my shoes, and I’m swinging barefoot around the kitchen. It’s great, too, if you happen to be wearing a flouncy skirt, because when you twirl around it flares outward.

Photo by Hankish

If you’re saying, I’m a man, I don’t wear skirts, I’m going to tell you to just shut up. Shut up now. Why are you creating more I-Can’ts?

Have you ever tried a flouncy skirt? Maybe something shiny, bubbly. Maybe try it with a shiny blue wig to match. Have you seen the men at Burning Man?

Soap the silverware and plates, put them aside. Then onto the cups and do another twirl around before the bowls.

You are an Arabe queen in your jingly skirt. You are a capoiera master flying through the air, the sexiest tango dancer on the block. You are a fire god, a water goddess rinsing away suds in time to the beat.

What? You’re embarrassed of dancing in public? Who cares? Certainly not you. Not a whit, not a bit. You’re just there to glide through life, move around, play and have fun.

Before you know it, your dishes are done.