CURRENT MISSION

My current mission is to survive a year living in a foreign country under a foreign system of government in a foreign language through a foreign university system. Results are currently contested.

ABOUT ME

Thinker.

PHILOSOPHY

The Invitation--Oriah Mountaindreamer

It doesn’t interest me what you do for a living.
I want to know what you ache for
and if you dare to dream of meeting your heart’s longing.

It doesn’t interest me how old you are.
I want to know if you will risk looking like a fool
for love
for your dream
for the adventure of being alive.

It doesn’t interest me what planets are squaring your moon...
I want to know if you have touched the centre of your own sorrow
if you have been opened by life’s betrayals
or have become shrivelled and closed
from fear of further pain.

I want to know if you can sit with pain
mine or your own
without moving to hide it
or fade it
or fix it.

I want to know if you can be with joy
mine or your own
if you can dance with wildness
and let the ecstasy fill you to the tips of your fingers and toes
without cautioning us
to be careful
to be realistic
to remember the limitations of being human.

It doesn’t interest me if the story you are telling me
is true.
I want to know if you can
disappoint another
to be true to yourself.
If you can bear the accusation of betrayal
and not betray your own soul.
If you can be faithless
and therefore trustworthy.

I want to know if you can see Beauty
even when it is not pretty
every day.
And if you can source your own life
from its presence.

I want to know if you can live with failure
yours and mine
and still stand at the edge of the lake
and shout to the silver of the full moon,
“Yes.”

It doesn’t interest me
to know where you live or how much money you have.
I want to know if you can get up
after the night of grief and despair
weary and bruised to the bone
and do what needs to be done
to feed the children.

It doesn’t interest me who you know
or how you came to be here.
I want to know if you will stand
in the centre of the fire
with me
and not shrink back.

It doesn’t interest me where or what or with whom
you have studied.
I want to know what sustains you
from the inside
when all else falls away.

I want to know if you can be alone
with yourself
and if you truly like the company you keep
in the empty moments.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I'm relatively new, have already shown one person around the city, am in training for when my parents visit in June!

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

Yes! All excellent! It's a great way to make genuine contact and dig into a place, not just stay inside a tourist bubble. Nice people do exist, and genuinely give of their couches!

Interests

I love to cook.
I like photography.
Words are important to me.
So are my friends, my community.
Living simply so that others may simply live.
Working for distributive instead of retributive justice: An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind.

• photography
• beauty
• dancing
• cooking
• vegetarian
• beaches

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Horse back ride.
On the beach.
Of the Atlantic coast.
At sunrise.
In Africa.

Swinging my legs,
sitting on the edge.
Ancient temple.
Beautiful valley view.
Sunrise.
Mexico.

Becoming vegetarian.

Countries I’ve Visited

Canada, France, Germany, Ghana, Honduras, Ireland, Italy, Mexico, Spain, United Kingdom

Countries I’ve Lived In

France, United States