The mind is a powerful and quite a tortuous beast. In the face of extremes the mind can be a great tool used to empower and protect. Or, when faced with stress, an all knowing beast used to tear you apart from the deepest parts of yourself. Your mind holds the secret desires and fears as well as hopes and dreams and knowledge of strengths. This traveling alone is very rewarding but it gives way to time spent dwelling in the bright and also dank parts of my own mind. I would be remiss if not to share how hard dealing with myself, my fears and lack of communication with home is effecting me. I have had encounters with people from many different cultures and they have started to teach me so much about a world once unknown. These moments are why I travel and why I want to tell about the world to all who want to hear. Standing in front of structures by the sea that hold such rich history I have felt the power travel and the warming sensation that comes with once in a lifetime experiences. Dancing in the kitchen with a beautiful young person so full of life and desire to learn and to help teach is a memory like no other. A moment in time that will dance with me forever. Seeing smiling faces and the first goodnight hug before bedtime is indescribable. These are the bright places of my mind that make the dank a lot more manageable. Still though when left ones self the mind will begin to play. I will begin to think about the times when I laughed so hard that I would cry with a little woman that I love very much. Simple things like sharing a meal, or a grandma bar seem like all that matters. The deep longing to speak to the voice that will ease me seems sometimes late as almost too much to stand. Still, though, the mind is powerful and sometimes even able to weigh things before even we realize. The experiences that I have lying out before me and the experiences I have thus far had help assure me that this is a golden opportunity that will lead somewhere spectacular. The public support and well wishes and personal comments I have received give me strength and passion to make this experience something special for myself and now all involved. So while dwelling in those places in your own mind know that if you give way to your dreams, though sometimes hard, it will lead to moments unforgettable and rewarding.