Two Words To Travel & Live By

Kula Collective yoga Teacher training graduate john early author in Present Moment Retreat Troncones Mexico with CJ Ananda and Cher

Two words to live, or travel by...or is that the same thing?

My Kula guru CJ Ananada (big smile on the right) once beautifully told me that above any lesson to take away from our three-week intensive yoga teacher course, if there were any two words to live by for a better, more fullfilling life it would simply state:

BE PRESENT.

That's it.

Everything else will follow and manifest as long as you are tapping into the moment and applying yourself to it. Like a continous life meditation waking into mindfulness, living in the now will improve communication, work productivity, creative flow...and even the taste of that hot cup of coffee in your hands. Soak it up!

This is why travel is so potent.

It provides fresh awareness through new environments and stimulation of all the senses to open up and live this present moment. You want to see it all, taste it all, take pictures and experience all these new sensations. When you forgo the ability and need to predict what the next moment will bring, you become stuck in the serendipitous now - a gift you can attain anywhere.

hitchhiking mexico in a volkswagon bug vw guerrero photo by author John Ear

Above: Hitchhiking through inland Mexico with this magical beast. Our gas line broke which we fixed with a wire that was holding the styrofoam roof down and a Kula Collective sticker I had...But made it to Patzcuaro to experience the infamous Día de los Muertos celebrations! Viva Mehico!

Of course anything can turn into repitition and routine. The constant newness of being on the road - in full-on travel mode - can also be exhuasting. As I've returned to my nomadic roots backpacking through Mexico on my way to my upcoming projects in Nicaragua, I hit a wall (always a few in every trip or life journey) of questioning why I'm still doing this. (Or at least doing it with a heavy duffle bag of my books!)

But the words BE PRESENT ring through and with that follow a grateful smile of liberation. Check out my latest Morning Maté video discussing it below :

~

In other news, I've been asked to speak at the sold-out Unconventional Life business accelerator conference at the end of the month at Aqua Wellness Resort in Nicaragua! Gabrielle Buenaciudad and I will be discussing our Momentom Collective artist residency projects and performing several workshops and yoga classes! Big year still ahead! Check out the promo video for Unconventional Life below: