Tag: adventure

My Travels

Over the last 8 years

I have traveled all over the world

Lived in tropical and exotic places

Met thousands of travelers in 18 countries

From Japan, Thailand, Vietnam, Australia, Italy, Greece, New Zealand and many more

Had great adventures with new friends

Explored beautiful islands and mountains

Explored my inner spiritual world

I have fallen on my knees in surrender at my lowest points of my life

But I have resurrected my life into something much more deep and beautiful (thanks to God of my life understanding)

I have basked in the true freedom of the unknown adventures

Both outward and inward

I am only 35 years old

But I have lived a full life

With many mistakes, triumphs, adventures, and rebirths

If my last breath is today

I am truly satisfied with a life truly lived

My heart is at peace

With love,

Johnny

Real Friends

We all need friendship as human beings. Humans need some connection to other people to thrive. In today’s world of social media this can be challenging. I have struggled with finding real friendships the last 10 years of my life. I have even questioned who my real friends are in the past. Were we just drinking friends in college or was there a real connection? People come into your life for a reason, a season or a lifetime. What causes us suffering is clinging to friendship when they do not serve us anymore. If one side of the friendship makes it difficult to hangout with and constantly makes excuses then it’s not a real friendship. Even if at one point you were real friends. I travelled the east coast of Australia 2 years ago and currently live in Byron Bay, Australia. I had a great time with a group of backpackers I met along the way. This friendship was fantastic for 3 months when we were traveling but as soon as we lived in the same area things became toxic.

I tried so hard to meet up with a few of these friends but for whatever reason they made it very difficult to hangout with them. They made it a chore to be friends with them, which is not true friendship. Real friends make time (even 10 minutes), acquaintances make excuses and gaslight you to think you’re in wrong.

I’m learning to let go of people who do not want to be in my life to make room for those who actually genuinely like the man I’m becoming through my day to day recovery from my gambling addiction. I’m not the same man I was 9 months ago when I entered gamblers anonymous and started my journey to heal childhood traumas. Letting go of material goods, jobs, and even relationships (friends, family, etc) that don’t serve you anymore is crucial for a happy healthy life. Setting boundaries is important before we completely cut off people. I still have deep compassion and love for those acquaintances I have let go of, knowing that they suffer too from something they aren’t ready to work through.

With love,

Johnny

Attachment: The Root of Our Suffering

Attachment is at the root of all suffering

Attachment to youth

Attachment to wealth

Attachment to our spouse, family & friends

Attachment to life itself

If attachment is the root of all suffering..

What is the root of joy?

Freedom is the root of joy

Freedom not to hurt ourself or others but freedom from fear, anger, and hatred running and ruining our lives

Liberation from old ways of thinking & doing that make us miserable

Today is the day to start changing, even small changes can lead to huge results in time

When we look at nature, we see that everything is impermanent.

Even our own sun has a shelf life

So why do live as if relationships, wealth, family members, and our own life will last forever?

If we live a full life, one life is enough.

With aloha,

Johnny

Open Heart

I almost got married in my mid 20s

But I was not ready for such commitment

It ended in disaster

I caused much suffering to myself & her

I vowed to be better

But I did not realise until recently that I had closed my heart

Maybe this was needed for me to become who I am today

7 years later

7 years single

The life of a nomadic backpacker doesn’t lend to serious relationships

But I know this is a chapter in my life, not the entire book

At 32 years old I have realised I truly would appreciate having a girlfriend again; someone to share my life with

Some things in life we can not learn outside of a deep relationship with another

When the time is right, I will choose to be in a relationship out of love, not fear of being alone 🙏🏻

With aloha,

Johnny

Nature Therapy

Turn off the phone

Leave it behind

Only bring yourself & some water

Go into nature

Breathing in

Breathing out

Smile

Enjoy mother nature with out any distractions

She carries all the answer to our ills if we can look deeply into her nature

With aloha,

Johnny

Why I Travel.

Travelling is liberating

It opens my eyes to different cultures & people

It challenges me

It enriches and expands my existence on this world

Exploring the outside world often leads to exploring the inside

New challenges bring growth

The fellow travelers I meet broaden my understanding of the world

One step can lead to a thousand

New connections and inspiration for the next adventure

Travelling will not make you happy or complete your life

But it can expand, enrich, and enlighten your life if you allow it too

With Aloha,

Johnny

(Backstory, I have traveled and lived in Hawaii; backpacked New Zealand, Vietnam, Japan, and Thailand. My next travels will be to Italy, Croatia, and Greece.)

Indentured Servitude

I’m an indentured servant in the 21st century

Not to a single person

But to my discover and capital one credit cards

Commercials taught me I needed these precious cards

They they would bring me joy

The opposite was true

For every time I gambled

The shackles on my wrists got tighter

Everytime I mindlessly consumed

The shackles got tighter

The thousands I spent at coffee shops was all to dig myself deeper into financial slavery


Until one day I awoke to my servitude

Realizing my freedom has been stripped from me slowly each day from my unwise decisions

Now aware

I will be more mindful

I will practice discipline

I will practice compassion

I will practice transparency

I will break from indentured servitude

One day at a time


With aloha,

Johnny

Drifter.

A drifter

A vagabond

Never commiting long term to a job

A relationship or location

This is how I choose to live my one life for now

For the open road is welcoming

New people

New experiences

The journey along the windy path into the unknown

Adventures with new friends

New places to explore

Discovering who you are through the adversity of uncertainty

The uncomfortable decisions you have to make that push you to be better

Never stagnating in one spot

Not decaying & mold from staying still too long

I’ll embrace this journey as a vagabond for now

Not knowing where life will take me

Who Knows?

Who knows what is truly good or bad?

When life can change in a mere moment.

Plot twists around every corner.

Our darkest moments can lead to the greatest times in our life.

Like the beautiful lotus flower blooming from dirty mud.

We too can rise from the darkness.

So who knows what is truly good or bad?

Drop the judgment.

Allow faith & curiosity guide you into the path unknown.

The Ghosts of Our Past.

A grandfather & his grandkids sit around a campfire on a cold winters night. The grandkids ask their grandfather to tell them a scary story. The grandfather takes a deep breath, knowing this story could have a huge impact on his grandkids. In the distance, a coyote howls into the deep silence of the forest.

The flame flickers

The moon shines into the cold night

As the grandfather tells his tale

His grandkids hearts drop

As they listen carefully to each word

Our past is not our past

If we refuse to let it go

The wise grandfather proclaimed

The ghosts of the past are real

They are dark creatures

More powerful then any demon

For they torment you

Day or night

They even follow you into your dreams

They steal your joy

Bring endless suffering

These ghosts

Lock you in a jail of regret

“How do you get out of this jail?!”

His grandkids screamed into silence of the night

“It’s simple but difficult” the grandfather proclaimed

The key to your freedom is the power of letting go

If you let go of the attachment, regret, and sorrow of your past the ghosts will disappear into the nights sky

Only to be seen time to time

To guide you on a different path then what led you to your own sufferings

Do not fight the ghosts, that is their fuel

Accept your past with compassion

For the past is gone

This exact moment is what matters

The grandkids slept good in their tents that night knowing that they are not helpless to these ghosts. The grandfather knew his grandkids would most likely have to learn the same way he did, through clinging to his past mistakes of infidelity, lying, and addictions. They will find their own way.