Well, dear reader, you find me sitting in the kitchen of an old and treasured friend on the edge of the Cairngorms. I arrived this morning on the sleeper from Euston, via Land Rover to a remote valley on a huge country estate. I’m in a gamekeeper’s cottage and the view from every window is uninterrupted Scotland. And blissfully peaceful. Oh, except when Mr Brown the donkey wants attention !
It’s almost a year since I boarded the Airbus A380 in Auckland, New Zealand, bound for London Heathrow. I had very mixed feelings about returning to my ‘normal’ life and what that would mean. I was ready to see Blighty again, but unsure how I would really feel. And it took a long time. I gave myself 2 weeks before returning to work, but when I finally got there it felt OK. Phew.
Office life was very different from when I set off on my adventures, but no-one expected me to be back to 100% straight away. Just as well. If anything surprised me it was how much I had slowed my pace down, to the point where London life was a true out-of-body experience. And that lasted many, many weeks. Work took several months before I felt I was attacking the day at full pace. But no bad thing as it gave me lots of reflection time. If I went away with a hope of ‘finding myself’, it didn’t happen on the trip. But over the last 12 months little, tiny light bulbs continue to go off in my head as I recognise another nugget of life that has all-of-a-sudden become obvious to me. And it’s a delightful state to be in.
Has it changed me ? Yes, absolutely, but the ways in which are still unfolding. I assumed I’d come back with a desperate urge to alter my life completely and know how immediately. Instead new priorities are evolving day by day. I know I will make changes, but only when the time and the opportunity is right. I feel privileged to know there’s options ahead of me and I’ve had the gift of time to breathe and reflect. At 15 my parents gave me a leather passport cover and told me to travel. It’s been all over the world with me since then, winking knowingly every time I pull it out of my bag. I like to think I’ve used it well.
Being close to nature, breathing genuinely fresh air and pausing to appreciate the wildlife we share this earth with is a truly magical and humbling experience. I did that every day I could on my travels. I’ve made some fantastic new friends, renewed distant friendships and pondered the value of relationships. I believe I’m a better person and a wiser person.
Finishing this piece I am back in London, reflecting on the journey down from Scotland. Detouring via another friend met on my travels, an opportunity to swim in a pool in the Yorkshire Dales presented itself whilst out walking. It was irresistible. No need to persuade each other, we were in the chilly depths within minutes. Afterwards, invigorated, watching tiny spring lambs and snacking on chocolate in the unseasonably warm sun, I chuckle to myself. No way would I have got in that water 18 months ago: I am not my old self anymore. And I rather like the renewed me !
