LIGHTEN UP DAY 31 - Changing Venue

A "venue" is a location. "Change of Venue," usually refers to a legal term regarding the transfer of a case from a court in one location to a court in another, or from one court to another in the same judicial district, for reasons of fairness or the convenience of the parties or the witnesses.

I think of "change of venue," as changing life direction, and accomplished through the program:

LIGHTEN UP 33 DAY TRANSFORMATION.

It's impossible to make lifestyle changes and not have every area of your life affected, some good and some bad. Changing venue can cause a hiccup in the timely progression of goals to release weight, fat, aging, addictions, sadness, dis-eases, the past, et cetera. Eating healthy foods, getting enough rest and exercise, all become challenging when changing venue, i.e. traveling.

Lynne and I finally left our LIGHTEN-UP-safe-haven: The TINY CONDO in Anchorage. We traveled from 1:00 pm on Monday when we arrived at the Anchorage Airport until 11:30 am on Tuesday when we arrived at the Norfolk International Airport in Virginia. We were exhausted, or as Lynne put it, "punch drunk."

Traveling, or changing the physical venue, can be very hard on the body systems.

Traveling causes lack of sleep, the constant stress of running to make your connections, or just figuring out where your connections are, unexpected changes in the connections, along with airport food, trying to rest while sitting up, people in your space, making great new acquaintances, avoiding psychic-vampires, staying safe, and a million different experiences.

Traveling is an amazing experience, but not for the faint of heart.

There are times when I travel a lot. I also have friends who travel every week for work. We call each other, "Road Warriors." To others who do not often travel, being a Road Warrior can sound romantic and exciting. But the physical wear and tear on the mind, body, and spirit can be harmful. There are RULES for traveling well:

Wear comfortable clothing - especially shoes
Drink plenty of water while traveling - stay hydrated
Eat lightly - airports offer better choices now than in the past, with fruits, nuts, seeds - even organic, but it can be tricky to avoid the "bad" stuff, like CINNABON - it smells wonderful, but leaves the body resources exhausted
If you have time, walk to your connections. Or get a quick massage
Practice meditation - close your eyes and think pleasant thoughts
Practice thinking NO thoughts
Stand up and walk around whenever possible - take stretching breaks
Put on a happy face
Look for opportunities to help someone struggling with luggage, children, an elderly person, someone looking lost and trying to find a bathroom
Don't hesitate to ask for directions, and understand that "stuff" happens. To name a few: plane maintenance, people are sometimes grumpy, and gates change.
Roll with the punches

CHANGING VENUE CHANGES ONE'S PERSPECTIVES:

Arriving home to my not so TINY CONDO in Virginia, I looked around and thought, "Is this all mine? Why do I need so much stuff? Do I own it or does it own me?"

These thoughts reminded me of an experience my daughter had when she returned home from her 18 month mission in Brazil. She had lived in poverty, washed her clothes in rain water, slept in a hammock, and served the beautiful people of Brazil. She spoke only Portuguese, and lived out of one suitcase.

I found her sitting on her bed, in her big, spacious, and beautiful room, located in our family home of 25 years. She had tears in her eyes and said, "Is all this stuff mine? Why do I need so much?"

Changing venues can cause the erupting of emotions. It's all good, but really: Why do we need so much stuff?