Stealing Fire by Steven Kotler and Jamie Wheal – REVIEW

Single with Love!

‘I know you enjoy being single and all, but don’t you miss love?’

She looked at me with judgemental eyes that were way easier to read than she probably wanted them to be.

‘Who says I don’t have love?’

When did not being in a relationship automatically become the same as lonely and without love? Just because I don’t share my rent with another person, suddenly I have no love in my life?

What a load of bullshit!

I’ve been single for almost a year now, and during that period of time I’ve met some amazing people. I’ve shared time and love with both men and women. Some are still in my life and some not. But they all have one thing in common; They’ve added something new to my life. They’ve helped me grow as a person. And through getting to know them, I also got to know myself a little better.

I have people in my life who’ve been there for many years. Friends I can’t even picture my life without. My best friends are my soulmates. The ones that I call when I need a shoulder to cry on, someone to laugh with or just to be distracted from my own thoughts. They are part of my roots, and no matter how far my lives branches stretch, they will always be connected to the those exact roots. Sometimes branches snap, but that doesn’t mean that they’re permanently broken. Over time a new branch will grow, and it will take a different shape than it had the last time around, but will still carry forth the most amazing leaves.

Some people didn’t stay around for that long. Some because they didn’t want to. Some because they couldn’t. I still love and miss them all. Because love is so much more than sharing your bed and your bills. Love is about connecting with people. It’s about growth and about being present.

Have I gotten my heart broken? Sure! Many times. Do I still love them? Absolutely!

The love might not be the same as it was, but it still lingers, like a distant memory. Because even if our relationship might change, it still contributed to my life and to the way that I love.

The beauty of cracks in a big heart is that even though it might bleed, the sunshine and warmth have more openings to enter through. I choose to be grateful for the love that I’ve experienced.

We fear the word love for being something that changes everything, but should we?  It’s been a long time since I feared the word love. Maybe I just love differently? Maybe it’s because I don’t believe in love being reserved for “the one”?

I like to say that I have too much love to give, for me to sit around and wait for one recipient. Because it’s better to have loved and lost, than never to have loved at all!

So to all of you wonderful people who’ve made my life to what it is today:

I love you! 

January 2017 – Wrap Up

London – Short and Sweet

Let me tell you about my short and wonderful trip to London last week! It all started after a night of no sleep (because going to bed at 1-2 is useless when you have to get up at 3.30) and the regular wonderful travel nerves. Left my apartment at 4.15 am with my backpack on and headed for the bus to the airport.

Everything ran as smoothly as it possibly could, and at 7.38 am my Ryanair flight to Stansted was ready for takeoff. Sleep took a hold of me for most of the flight, and even though I love Ryanair for always being on time and having very affordable tickets, I certainly wish that they were easier to sleep on. Who sits with such a straight posture for an entire flight? Luxury problem, I know. I managed to fall in and out of sleep anyways.

A couple of hours later I was on British ground and headed for yet another bus. On previous trips to London I’ve taken the Stansted Express into town, but as I found that the bus was much cheaper, I decided to give that a go instead. The bus was comfortable, had free wifi and was a lot easier to sleep on. So I sneaked in another hour or so of sleep there as well and finally felt rested and ready for a busy day.

It was a rainy and grey London that met me when I got off the bus, but that wasn’t going to wear me down. The reunion was still filled with love and joy. I spent a few hours just walking around the city, soaking in that feeling of being home. The city, the people and the creative vibe of the place makes me walk around smiling like a crazy person.

After a few hours of walking around and getting lost on purpose, I found a sweet little café where I had some coffee and did some much needed writing. Typing came much easier than it had for quite some time, and I wasn’t at all surprised. Traveling really makes my creativity thrive and I wish I had the time and the money to do much more of it.

A few hours of writing passed by and I really got some good work done on my novel, and then I found my way to St. Christopher’s at the Village, the hostel where I had booked a bed. It was close to London Bridge, so extremely easy to get to and the staff was absolutely wonderful! I got the top bunk in a 33 bed dorm. Connected to the hostel was Belushi’s Bar, a very nice bar with a good atmosphere and cheap drinks for everyone sleeping at the hostel. I ended up sitting there to write for a while before I put my Surface away and ended up having a few beers with an Australian who was also traveling by himself.

I really enjoyed my stay at St. Christopher’s Inn and I will definitely stay there on my next visit as well!

The next morning I had to check out by 10 am. and the fact that I had forgotten to drink water before I got to bed hit me quite hard. Got a good walk in, some food and a coke, and I finally beat the hangover. After that I found my way to Victoria Station, sat there and did some more writing while enjoying a snack, and then it was already time to head back to the airport for my flight home unfortunately.

It was a very short, but much needed trip. I enjoyed every minute of it (well maybe not the short period of time where I felt horribly hungover), and hopefully I will be able to sneak in another one of these writing trips again soon! It does wonders for my creativity and for my happiness! The only downside is that now I just want to travel even more. Bitten by the bug, yet again! But I’m not going to complain about that. The traveling will happen in time, and I feel so lucky to have had the opportunity to experience such a short and sweet experience in a city that I love and have missed.

London baby, I’ll be back soon!

 

2017 Vlog #1 – Creativity, Dating and London

I think we need a break!

It’s not that I don’t love you, I just that I feel like I need to get away for a little while. 

Oslo, we need to see other people! 

At the very moment that I’m writing this, I’m waiting for my plane to start boarding. I’ve been talking about that familiar tug of a traveler who hasn’t traveled in a while (way to long in my opinion) and about working on my novel. It was about time to have some change of scenery combined with focused writing and meeting new lovely people. So I booked myself a trip to London! London is one of my absolute favorite cities. I can’t really explain what it is, other than every time I go back it feels like coming home. I was get a lot of new creative input from the place and the people! 

My backpack is beside me with all of my writing gear, my camera is with me and I’m just enjoying the feel of being on a new adventure! I love every part of it, even getting to the airport extra early to wait. It’s all part of the journey! 

How long am I staying you ask?? Oh I’m staying in London for a whole 36 hours.. Yes, it is a short trip, but 36 hours are way better than no hours. And I’m going to enjoy myself every single minute of it. 

London baby, I’m coming home! Can’t wait to see you again! 

If you’d like to come along for the ride then you can add me on Snapchat: featherpen87 🙂