Between Clouds and Clarity: navigating the unknown for a return with new eyes

I am at the end of the seventh month... of my journey of course ;) ... In less than two months, I will give birth to my return to Europe.

At the moment, I am literally among the clouds that envelop the mountains of Taiwan.

My visibility is from here until tomorrow morning.

I have many ideas in my head, but nothing is decided.

At this point, I let myself be carried by the winds and events alike.

For some time now, pre-determined destinations have lost their importance.

If I think back to the tense body of the version of me that started this journey by volunteering in the outskirts of Bangkok, I smile.

In moments of difficulty, I still return to what I learned during my Vipassana retreat near Chiang Mai.

When I struggle to stop, I think back to the lively Chinese community on the border between Myanmar and Thailand. Their ability to always search in the same place still disarms me.

The slow and insidious meanders of the Mekong still guide me in overcoming the physical and mental boundaries that every journey—worthy of the name—must have.

The volcanoes that were surprisingly climbable despite adverse forecasts emphasize the importance of listening and trust.

The autistic children, with whom I spent the most touching moments, opened up a new world to me regarding ways of relating to the reality around us.

Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan kept me balanced between past and future, between cutting-edge metropolises and cities suspended in time, between temples with millennial traditions and war wounds with no more time or boundaries.

Above all, no matter what, nature always prevails.

With every kilometer traveled by foot, bike, motorcycle, boat, kayak, bus, train, paramotor, plane or imagination, I countered with an awareness of my breath. At times, it slipped away from me as only great teachers do.

To truly grasp and appreciate all that one has, one must know how to be.

Proust was profoundly right: the real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new lands but in having new eyes.

I am getting ready to return, but it is still premature ;).