There are times, in the midst of a huge new experience, where you feel yourself tightening. It´s easy to become more perfectionistic, obsess over every Spanish verb conjugation, and dig into yourself. We are so often not kind with ourselves. There are times when you want to tighten down, become more efficient, and cut down on slack. You probably want to be less visible too because that would be easier.

There are also times, like a bus I took to a boat yesterday, when the wind blows through you. The windows were open on the bus, and the air was moving. I noted it. There needs to be wind and space inside us too. Space for little wild animals to roam around. There are times to speed up and there are times to loosen. There is often a need for things to move around.

I will also say that after that bus ride, I had the amazing privlidge of floating down a small tributary of the Amazon on this boat with a live band that played all afternoon. It was so wild, so enriching, and such an opening in my life. I actually got up and sang with the band. It was nearly a first for me and definitely a kind of loosening.