Since I announced it in my latest podcast episode, it’s been sitting and brewing in the back of my mind. About visiting Mongolia.
In that episode, I had said that I didn’t know how, when and why I wanted to do that. It wasn’t until after that episode, when I sat down to write this post that I remembered the book that planted that seed in my mind so many years ago.
This’s how long ago it was, when I read that book. I don’t remember the author or the name of the book. I don’t remember when or what year I had read it.
But I remembered that it was the reason why Mongolia stayed with me.
Why in the world Mongolia?
I love traveling. One of our greatest family excursions that we’ve taken was to China about ten or so years ago. I’m an American borne Chinese and this was my first time ever going to China, homeland of Zen Master and Zen Mum.
I had posted about this once-in-a-lifetime trip on my blog (before the Great-Upgrade-that-Crashed-My-Blog-2019). But I was able to save those valuable posts and they’re currently in draft form. Thank goodness.
But I digress.
It was after the trip to China that I was seriously bitten by the travel bug. And since I didn’t have the funds, time or wherewithal to go anywhere, I created my bucket list. Of faraway exotic places to go to and fabulous food to drop my face into.
Because the world is limitless with a simple library card, I had searched and found a short story collection of non-fiction stories written by similarly travel-bug bitten women adventurers. Through their poignant words, I saw the world through their eyes. And wanted to make their experiences my own.
Talk about inspiration
There was this one story that I remembered well. She was a horseback rider, part of a club that rode. Her club somehow scored a trip to Mongolia to ride across the Gobi Desert. When I first read that, I’m like You’re nuts, woman. Of all places to go in the entire world, Mongolia?
It was rough, beyond rugged and I could’ve equate it to camping (I don’t camp) but it seemed beyond camping. The people were friendly, the horses were wild and the gallop across the foreign territory was just made-for-movies.
But I remember how she was awed by the vast night sky filled with brilliant stars when they slept under them most nights. There were neither pollution to cloud the night sky nor any city lights to dim its brilliance.
The question at that point for me evolved from Why Mongolia? to Why not Mongolia?
Why now?
As I’ve mentioned in podcast episode 19, at a high and spiritual level, the Corona virus (COVID-19) pandemic is a reset period for all of us. It’s as if the Universe’s reminding us, it’s now or never to make it happen. That it is everyone’s personal goal, dream, aspiration, purpose. Whatever it is.
I’m finally taking the bull by the horns and am going to make one of my “it” happen. Don’t know the when, what or how the WTF am I going to do this yet. At this point, it’s a long game.
But I do know one thing with absolute certainty. If you speak it aloud, the Universe’ll hear and will make it happen for you.
To be continued.
