Here I am, lounging on a cozy bed nestled in a small room at a lovely hostel in Japan. I am on a 10 day adventure with my 13 year old daughter through Tokyo, Osaka and Kyoto. My heart is beyond full with appreciation for the gift of this experience. For the privilege to be here now with her. For the desire and the decision to take this trip together.
There are so many significant shifts in our lives, so many changes we experience, and I really like the idea of honoring these shifts with rites of passage. Many cultures and religions acknowledge these shifts with various rituals and events to honor the significance of our changing lives.
Since I don’t practice religion and my family heritage doesn’t really have any particular rites of passage, when my daughter turned 13, I wanted to give her a rite of passage to honor this time in her life.
After meditating on what could feel meaningful to her, I decided to offer to take her on a trip wherever she wanted to go in the world. I know how much travel has influenced and inspired me in my own life. Visiting far away places and people has helped me feel more connected to others. Travel has helped me see how I am part of the tapestry of humanity on this earth. Travel has required me to dig deep inside myself to connect with my center through intense and challenging experiences. Travel has shown me such beauty and reignited my wonder in transformational ways.
Knowing how powerful travel can be, I wanted to give this gift of growth and connectedness to my daughter as she shifts into this next phase of her life.
So here we are, on a most epic adventure traveling through Japan. It has certainly not always been easy, though I am proud of both of us for remembering to choose ease even in the challenge, confusion and exhaustion of traveling.
We have again and again chosen to calm ourselves with intentional breathing and focus. We have chosen to stay centered and to be kind. We have chosen to be here now.
And in this choosing, we have aligned with such magical experiences and we have cocreated the best travel adventure we could imagine.
When we’ve needed it most, we’ve received help ~ a kind human seeing us looking lost and showing us the way….a helpful human offering to carry my daughter’s luggage up two flights of stairs when we couldn’t find an elevator at the train station…a gentle human walking us to the correct train platform…a warm smile from the hostel clerk welcoming us to our temporary home.
We’ve been in the flow of our experience and have chosen to travel from a place of peace, from a centered, in the flow perspective. And it’s been the most magical experience for us.
Softening, surrendering, allowing ourselves to be journeyed as we take one step at a time. This is the sweet spot for our travel journeys…and our life journeys.
This adventure has been such a time of growth for both of us. I thought bringing my daughter on this trip was just for her, was a gift for her, was a rite of passage for her into adulthood. Turns out, this trip has been equally meaningful and transformational for me. It’s been an opportunity to explore not only with this incredible human I get to call my daughter, but also a chance to connect and experience life with her as a friend.
We are mother and daughter, yes, and we are also sisters of this earth. We have a new, deeper understanding and compassion for each other. And I see how much I adore her beyond being her mama. I see the beauty of her just as a human being. I see the wonder of who she is in a whole new way.
I am so humbled and grateful to have chosen this travel experience as a rite of passage for my daughter. Our time together here has been priceless. Our shared experiences have strengthened our bond even more. Our journeys have been sacred and oh so meaningful.
If there is some rite of passage you’d like to gift yourself or someone you love, I encourage you to listen to that whisper calling you to honor the shifts in your life. A rite of passage can be as grand as a trip around the world or as simple as lighting a candle and giving thanks for the experience.
Whatever you choose, listen to your inner knowing and let your journey be sacred, be honored, be meaningful to you.
Thank you for being here.
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