life Archives • The Bliss Movement

Packing Tips: 5 Tips for the Over-Packer

My first trip of the year is coming up in exactly one week so you can bet I've been itching to pack for the last month! Unfortunately, I think there is such a thing as packing too early and have had to practice restraint. I made it until this past Thursday and couldn't take it anymore - in a heart-racing frenzy I pulled out my summer clothes and the packing began! If you've ever gone on a long trip or even a one week holiday, you'll understand me when I say that packing is a skill that is best when practiced to perfection. While there is a huge difference in packi[...]

Personal Development, Travel

A World of Possibility

Sorry for being such an inconsistent blogger lately I find it difficult to write engaging posts for you when I'm home, spending most of my time working and saving for the next adventure (and it's a big adventure). But being home and surrounded by family and friends brings with it a little bit of enlightenment, so I'll likely be sharing some of that with you lately with more reflection posts rather than actual travel posts. It's a funny moment when you realize how differently you view the progression of your life compared to those around you. It's exciting to th[...]

Mood and Mindset, Self-Care

Stop Apologizing For Laughing Too Much: 4 Ways Laughter Leads To A Better Life

There was a moment in my life when I did the unthinkable. I was sitting in the front row of my late uncle’s funeral service. Somebody was up at the podium, delivering a tear-stained speech, and I was sitting there, listening. But I was also thinking about a time I had spent with him, a hilarious moment where laughter had been contagious and we had both gotten belly aches from laughing too hard. So I did the unthinkable. One of the most horrific social taboos at a funeral: I laughed. A bubbling giggle erupted from within, and I laughed in the middle of a very s[...]

Personal Development, Self-Care, Travel

An Open Letter To The Man I Met Abroad

It hits at the most unexpected times. It's not written in stone and it can sneak up on you when you're least expecting it. We all know the feeling: the undeniable tightening of the chest, the butterflies soaring in your stomach and the endless need to hear his voice, see his face. Love has a funny way of working and travel has a funny way of making itself a larger priority. Maybe it's not really love if it doesn't come first but it has gotten pretty close. The first time I saw him he was singing in a café that my friends and I went to every Wednesday: a guitar s[...]

Mood and Mindset, Self-Care

The Practice of Being Still

The practice of taking moments of being still can be transformative for our mental wellness. I love the sound of silence, the stillness of a lazy morning or the setting of the sun. It feeds the energy in my soul, energizing and rejuvenating it. I come away from stillness feeling refreshed and truly ready to take on whatever the world wants to throw at me. When I lose sight of my intentions for this life of mine, I try to find that space of stillness. Life sweeps you away sometimes, the good and the bad of it tangle you up until you are tumbling around in it. Th[...]

Tips, Planning and Packing, Travel

Three Accessories to Travel in Style

Call it vanity, but sometimes you just feel better when you don't arrive to a destination with red eyes, crazy hair and wrinkly clothes. It's happened to me too many times because I always put off purchasing these three accessories, claiming I could never find any that I loved. Well, times have changed and I am now fully prepared to arrive looking at least a little better than I used to. The Sunglasses Have you ever woken up and stumbled out of an airplane in the middle of the night, far earlier than any human should be awake with swollen, bloodshot eyes, eyelas[...]

Self-Care, Travel

When Your Love of the World is Stronger than Your Desire to Love a Person

“I don’t know where I am going, but I am on my way.” -Carl Sagan Every time I check my news feed I am bombarded with couples madly in love with each other. There are engagement announcements, girls showing off the new diamonds on their ring finger, wedding dates, pregnancy announcements and baby photos. I realize that the age I am now is a perfectly acceptable age to get married and have kids... but that is the farthest thing from my mind. Hell, I can't even commit to a relationship without my brain piping in and asking "what's the point?" Having my brain[...]

Solo Travel, Travel

Why You Shouldn’t Be Afraid of Traveling Alone.

I recently wrote a post about having the courage to acknowledge and pursue a desire for an "unconventional" life, such as one of travel. That got me thinking about one of the biggest reasons people have that stop them from their travel journey: "I don't want to go alone." I can't count the number of times someone has told me how much they would love to go somewhere, if only they had someone to go with. For so many reasons on why people believe they shouldn't travel solo, I am here to tell you why you should. To travel solo is to let go of everything that you hav[...]