Journey Juju

#best09 - Project I'm Proud Of

I'm proud of completing my novel in February, but I'm most proud of conceiving and completing and launching my e-book, The Graceful Return: Relish Your Journey After You've Come Home.

After I came back from my year-long trip, I found it hard to get a grip on my new reality. I sensed that others might go through the same thing.

People returning from the Peace Corps or other service abroad, those being returned home after a stint in the company's international office, students coming home from a year abroad...we all face that challenge of integrating what we just experienced with our new lives back home.

I'm also proud of the cover that I designed. It's been my challenge to bring a more visual element into my work, and this wasn't easy. I observed the creative process full-on:

• getting the idea that I could do the cover myself
• my insistence that it had to be artistic, in order to reflect the premise that art-making approaches can help process the journey
• realizing I had no clue how to do that
• trying a few things
• getting feedback that indicated I was striking out
• brainstorming with Elizabeth to get a better sense of what I wanted
• trusting it would work out
• bringing it all together
• executing it, photographing it
• getting positive feedback on the cover
• finally, celebrating.

I believe that living the creative process through making things is such a valuable experience. I want others to have the gift of their creativity as a path to self-understanding.

That's why I wrote this book.

The Graceful Return for Veterans

I wrote The Graceful Return: Relish Your Journey After You've Come Home with travelers in mind. I believe the principles in the book are suitable for those who have been on an extended trip or a short vacation. When I was considering who else might benefit from it, I thought of Veterans returning from duty. I can’t even imagine what it’s like to try to return to a normal life after living war. It must be incredibly difficult to reconcile all the experiences with life back home. There must be an enormous emotional and mental

I can only hope that veterans returning home would access mental health professional help. I also know the value of using art as an aid to process experiences. Writing, photography, and other simple tools can help sort and order stories. In-person gatherings and online blogs and photo sharing sites are venues to easily share stories in creative ways.

These suggestions and others are in my e-book, The Graceful Return: Relish Your Journey After You've Come Home. While I wouldn’t call a stint in Iraq or Afghanistan an adventure, I do think the tools in this guide to the return can contribute to making the transition easier.

The Graceful Return is available as an immediate download at the Original Impulse online store.

My Graceful Return

Words spilling out after my return

On the night I returned from my five-week trip to Europe, the family I live with was hosting a pumpkin carving party. By the time I arrived from Paris, they were done carving and were enjoying dinner. I sat down, gave headlines from the trip and ate a bowl of curried squash soup. It was a beautiful and autumnal return from a long and challenging trip. 

This may have been the most difficult trip I have ever taken. Honestly I am surprised I made it the entire five weeks. But that’s another story; it would be great if I could turn it into a screenplay. I see it as a movie starring Maggie Gyllenhaal and Tom Cruise. :) It was also a trip full of unexpected delights, abundant insights and deep learning.

For me, travel almost always presents opportunities to learn and grow beyond my perceived capacity. Think personal growth boot camp, made palatable by tons of beauty and many joyous moments and lots of good food and drink.

So, upon my return, what to do with the complex mix of impressions, thoughts and emotions from one crazy and intense journey?

I’m using the tools from my e-book The Graceful Return to process the insights and learning from my trip. While on the road, I spent a lot of time reflecting on my work and what I want to share with my clients and readers in coming years. Mr. B, a successful businessman, gave me a lot of feedback (some painful - think dry shave and you get it). I’m busy sorting through it all to develop my work. 

Recovering from a Mobile Lifestyle

From Part One of The Graceful Return, I’m using several of the self-care practices I recommend. I’m talking about my experiences with good friends, who are helping me unpack and understand what I experienced. I’m making sure to exercise and eat nourishing foods. Most importantly, I spend time each day reflecting on the lessons from my trip. My notebook is packed with wildly enthusiastic notes and sketches. I also know that this process takes time and I may still be gathering insights months and even years later.

 

The Original Impulse home office