Hello lovely,
Last week I had a wonderful time being back out on the road, meeting inspirational people, staying in some gorgeous sustainable accommodation and reconnecting with old friends.
Tomorrow I go away again, and it’s strange but I’m finding it a little hard to get back out there. I feel the urge to stay home, to spend time doing all the things on my around-the-house-to-do list, to nest again and have more time just being still.
I’ve only had four days at home between trips, and it doesn’t feel like long enough. But in 2019 I didn’t blink at flying in from New York and spending two nights in Sydney before heading back to the airport to fly to the Galapagos.
I don’t live in Sydney, so on that trip, and on quite a few before, I didn’t even come home between international flights.
It was all very normal in my travel writing world at the time, but I remember thinking things had to change. That it wasn’t sustainable. For the planet or for my own physical health. And I knew that in 2020 I wanted to slow things down, I just wasn’t quite sure how I was going to do it.
Turns out I didn’t have to worry because there was a much bigger plan about to unfold. One that has slowed most of us down in ways we never imagined.
And as I look at my packed bags in the hallway again, I know I don’t want to go back to ‘normal’.
Don’t get me wrong, I want the freedom to travel anywhere in the world. I want to be able to hug my friends, and laugh and dance with them. I want us all to be able to embrace a world full of opportunities, rather than be told we can’t go where we want to go or do what we want to do.
But personally I don’t want to go back to the old pace. I don't want the world to go back to that crazy old pace either.
I want us to end this year with a new appreciation for so many things, and for us to have more of a focus on taking good care of ourselves and this big beautiful planet of ours.
The trip I’m heading off on tomorrow is going to be another rather special one, with a focus on great people, places and produce on the Tweed Artisan Food Weekend. So there was no way I was going to miss out on that one.
But I’m promising myself that this fast turnaround at home will be the exception, rather than the rule when things speed up again.
I know that some of my friends are itching for life to get back to the way it was, and whatever you’re feeling will be right for you right now. We’re all processing this one in different ways.
But I’d love to know how you’re coping as we head into the final weeks of 2020. If you’re up for sharing a bit of your world, just hit reply or come say hi on Instagram @TheAmandaWoods.
xA
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That time I went walking with polar bears. Yes, really.
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A new life ahead for this stray dog and the kittens she saved
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When a weekend in a cave sounds like an incredibly romantic idea.
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