What I Learnt……

One of the aims was to experience and learn so this blog tries to capture and share this…..

Not to worry so much.  Over the years I think I've become more anxious and anyone who experiences anxiety will recognize that it's an unpleasant and debilitating mental condition.  I'm not talking about not worrying at all - worry has it's place in helping us to survive and thrive but when it constantly wakes you in the night with fear and stops you from enjoying life it is pretty horrible.  While we were in the Alps I had my anxieties from Homer breaking down, freezing over and just generally not keeping us warm to driving up and down the thin and winding mountain roads.  We were also on a budget and so worrying about money could also become and constant thing if not careful.  All of these things could potentially limit the adventure and I was aware of this from the very start.  But what I came to realise was that the difficult times passed and while I was away I listened to some podcasts like Fearless Women in Sport from my friend Sue Amati’s that emphasised this message too.  Being in the mountains, experiencing the skiing and the nature and the landscape was something that trumped that anxiety.  Also from the very beginning nearly everyone we met, fellow adventurers if you like, also had a similar mindset where they were looking at things with a positive outlook.  It was infectious and I think it's important to try to fill your life with positive people and experiences.

I also learnt that life doesn't need to be difficult, in fact when you live in a motorhome it can become incredibly simple and that is one of the great pleasures of living in that way.  I've also read in Feel Better Live More by Dr Rangan Chatterjee that all the decision making that modern life provides us can also make us unhappy and over stressed.  And I think that when you are living in the Alps from day to day and hand to mouth I found that I didn't agonise over what to do that day or night.  I had skiing, walking, we could visit any one of a number of amazing local natural places, and if the weather wasn't great I could play my Uke or write a blog/post a you tube clip.  Making meals also became something I enjoyed and just planning different places to visit.  It was all pretty simple and so pretty easy and pretty good.

So those are my life learnings but I think I did learn and improve some practical skills too.

Of course I did play my Uke fairly regularly and really had to play indoors with the cold weather as it was.  When Melle was teaching I'd close the bathroom door, sit on the toilet and play. 😀 Playing was and is my little personal space and I like to think my repertoire has increased a little bit as well as my competence.  I'm certainly more confident playing in others company and I'm planning to go to the Shrewsbury Ukefest this summer and also maybe to see if I can play with others in public.  The dream of playing at Wembley Stadium lives on. 😂😂😂

I've always been a bit of a dreamer and a believer in the power of dreams (I love the saying 'If you can dream it you can be it') but I think the adventure just reinforced this thinking.  Melle and I have, for some years since lockdown I think, regularly created and updated our 'dream board'.  When you talk about it and write about it and draw pictures of it then it fires your creative spirit and gradually it starts to become a reality.  To begin with everything was a bit new a crazy and exciting but once things settled down in February I remember thinking ' we've done it!' and this is also really empowering.  When you achieve a dream it just fires you to get started on another one in future.  Funnily enough a lot of famaily and friends have asked us 'what's next'?  I think when you become adventurous there is an expectation that you'll keep going. 😊

Oh yeh - I think I've become a lot more confident and consistent skiing all kinds of conditions too.  I didn't really appreciate this until we skied with others later on during the trip - sometimes they would find certain conditions a bit more difficult and I didn't.  But I also realised that sometimes others are more adventurous than me - and that's ok too - I'm not about to climb the Matterhorn or walk to the North Pole.  I've posted here a link to one of the very few you tube clips which show me skiing - as most of the time I was wearing the go pro!!  See what you think? 😏

I learnt lots of things about living in the Alps and other cultures too - probably too many little things to write them all down here.  I think that’s another thing about travelling and adventuring, almost every day is a school day and most of the time this helps you to stay young thinking and enthusiastic.  Melle and I have always had this adventurous spirit and this trip was a great way to feed it.

But I haven't learnt what I want to do with the rest of my life though - and maybe that’s a good thing.  I didn't have a great 'road to Damascus' moment but I did feel very content being busy with lots of little things and having time to just be me.  And that's the plan at the moment to take that into my life back home in Shrewsbury.  We have a few other little trips too and a some bigger ideas which we’re considering too.  Of course they all include Homer and probably at least a little bit of skiing too.  Now that we’ve found this hybrid way of life it’d be a shame not to try a bit more of it. 

Since we’ve returned home I’ve also been reminded of some learning and the benefits of preparing for the next phase too - something that I’m not very good at I’m afraid.  The fact that our car wouldn’t start and had run out of both MoT and car tax probably hasn’t made life too easy, and reminded me that Homer isn’t really built for local convenience journeys!! 🙄 Also, although I’m sure the skiing has been good for me I think my fitness has definitely been affected by not doing any running, cycling or the flexibility exercises included in my previously daily yoga.  I think I’ve learnt that I need to do more maintenance activities and not just rely on skiing and the occasional walk.  Perhaps I also need to be patient in trying to return to my previous routine too.   Again not a great strength of mine.

So we’re settling back in Shrewsbury, catching up with friends, playing tennis / staying active and we’re also exploring the potential of Air BnB so that we can maybe let our house out while we’re away in future.  

This is the last blog for now but everyone has been so supportive of the adventuring and the blog that we'll almost certainly resurrect it on future trips.  Watch this space.

This final blog was written by Chris