What is Love?

Valentine's Day - 2014

This one time....in yoga class....my teacher read this quote. 

“Dear Human: You've got it all wrong. You didn't come here to master unconditional love. That is where you came from and where you’ll return. You came here to learn personal love. Universal love. Messy love. Sweaty love. Crazy love. Broken love. Whole love. Infused with divinity. Lived through the grace of stumbling. Demonstrated through the beauty of… messing up. Often. You didn't come here to be perfect. You already are. You came here to be gorgeously human. Flawed and fabulous. And then to rise again into remembering. But unconditional love? Stop telling that story. Love, in truth, doesn't need ANY other adjectives. It doesn't require modifiers. It doesn't require the condition of perfection. It only asks that you show up. And do your best. That you stay present and feel fully. That you shine and fly and laugh and cry and hurt and heal and fall and get back up and play and work and live and die as YOU. It’s enough. It’s Plenty.”

I love the quote because It captures a mature view of what love is and resonates with me as I struggle with my own perfectionist tendencies. This helps me to remember that I don't have to be perfect.  But if I remain present and in the moment to feel it all then it is enough.

I dedicate this blog entry to my true love, Mary Beth. She is an amazing woman who is vibrant, energetic, fun loving, and a blast to hang out with. She loves the sun, the ocean, Pukkah, her sisters, her father and mother, playing backgammon, prosecco, and luckily, she loves Me. 

We've been together for just over 10 years. During that time we have built a life of adventure, travel, and growth. There have been ups and downs, challenges and successes. But through it all she and I remain solidly in love.

The Top 10 Reasons Why I Love MB

10. She will have a 15 minute conversation with Pukkah that includes topics such as travel adventure, household boundaries that do not include the kitchen, the obligatory morning ritual "kiss", the meaning of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, and the rules of backgammon.

9. Her ability to find the best restaurant within a 5 mile radius no matter where we are in the world.

8. Her HUGE giving heart that is compassionate, loving, and kind.

7. She is a member of the International Ladies of Vietnam (ILV). Doesn't that sound impressive and culturally in touch?

6. She knows more Vietnamese words and phrases than I do.

5. She makes me look good.

4.  She has a mean back hand and she doesn't run around it (whatever that means JW).

3. She pushes me (in a good way) I think of her every time I listen to the Wood Brother's Song, Made It Up the Mountain.

"I don't believe I'd have made it up the mountain

I don't believe I'd have climbed so high

I don't believe I'd  have made it up the mountain without the fire burnin' under my behind." 

2.  She has a VERY cute but and very long eyelashes.

 ...and finally the  #1 reason why I love MB!

She is a HYPER-MANIFISTATOR. There are maybe 2 other people in the world that may understand this newly created word. When MB wants to do or create something in her life, she gets it done and  it gets done quickly. In fact, after writing on a piece of scrap paper all of the things she wanted in a husband, she manifested me.

        

One Year in Vietnam

THE ARRIVAL
February 20th, 2014 marks the one year anniversary of our arrival to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. My wife, Mary Beth, and our Welch Corgi, Pukkah arrived in the middle of the night to be picked up and taken to our new home.

THE CULTURE SHOCK
It has taken almost the year to get over the shock of selling everything we had, leaving Colorado and moving to the opposite side of the globe to a new language, food, and job. It took more than 7  months for me to even realize that I was in shock to begin with. I thought my experience living in Medellin, Colombia, in 1992 would give me a pass for any major cultural challenges I would meet.

THE SCHOOL
ISHCMC - American Academy is located in District 2 or Ahn Phu Ward right next to the Saigon River. It is adjacent to the International School of Ho Chi Minh City, the oldest IB World school in HCM City. The American Academy runs from grade 6 to 12 and primarily caters to wealthy Vietnamese families that wish to send their children to North American universities and colleges. My years helping to lead schools and programs in Colorado Springs have helped prepare me for many of the challenges. However, some items would have been very difficult to prepare for in the States:

1. DDT being sprayed every Monday night to kill the mosquitos.
2. Snakes dropping from trees on to my head.
3. Walking across the street in a country that has more motor scooters than people and cars combined.
4. Vietnam just made the top 10 list for the WHO's worst air quality.


THE TRAVEL
We've had some amazing travel opportunities over the last year; Bali, Indonesia, Hoi An, Da Nang, and Phu Quoc, Vietnam, Gillie Air, Indonesia, Chang Mai, Koh Lanta Bangkok, and Phuket, Thailand. Coming up we are looking at Tanzania, Africa, Cambodia, Laos, and the Philippines.

Floating Temple, Bali Indonesia