Flying High
By: Laura Garcia
Tags: Thailand, Divorce, Thecontentcastle, Kohsamui, Dealingwithdivorce

Every once in a while, I get this high, this feeling like I have wings. Like the world is at my fingertips, like I could and want to take over the world, or at least my little tiny piece of it. It’s not a feeling I remember experiencing before Greece, before the “year of change”.

Elements of it perhaps. It’s a bit like the feeling I used to get when a trip or vacation was winding down or we were driving back from the cottage, grateful and content after time well spent, looking forward and dreaming about the future after spending some time enjoying the now. It’s the feeling you get on the Friday of a long weekend or driving to go camping, bare feet on the dashboard, Bob Marley or Moxy Fruvous in the tape deck. The excitement of the last day of school before summer break.

It’s a feeling of freedom, of happiness, of hope. The difference now, however, is that it’s no longer coming from a long weekend, a vacation, or even a two-month summer break, it’s the excitement I have about my life. It’s the pride I feel when I look back over the last year, it’s the possibilities I see when I look forward and it’s the person I see when I look inside.

This is the feeling that carries me through, that keeps me doing what I’m doing. It’s the feeling I had when I started Sunflowers & Mangoes, it’s what got me to Thailand and it’s what kept me here when all I wanted to do was go home. It’s what comes when you listen to your heart, trust your gut, and ignore your fears.

It’s your soul thanking you for nourishing it and in return giving you everything you need to keep going, and so much more.

It’s a beautiful fucking thing…

Which followed a beautiful night. Cherry is our cook, the housekeeper, and our friend. She is beloved by all who come to the castle, for her fantastic cooking, but mostly, for her smile. Fridays are Cherry’s day off and we are left to fend for ourselves.

For me yesterday, being slightly tired from a few drinks the night before, that meant skipping breakfast and eating a half a bag of left over shrimp chips while reading in the hammock. By dinner I was starving. We had decided to go for cheap and “authentic”, and go where the locals go.

It’s a makeshift restaurant, out front of their home, bamboo picnic tables on a dirt floor, covered by grass huts strewn with white lights and remnants of Christmas garland. Sand buckets are used for ice, placed along with a plastic dollar store jug of water and Hello Kitty-esque glasses. A young girl who we assumed was the eldest daughter was our waitress. We all ordered pad thai, at a whopping price of 50 baht (roughly $2). The servings were small but delicious, much like the pad thai we get at home, but better, the sauce more caramelized, the shrimp more tender.

After dinner a few of us walked down the beach to Bandon’s, where we spent a nice evening swaying and bopping our heads to some great music while listening to Chockie, the owner re-tell his life lessons and stories. It was a relaxed, fun evening, full of laughs, good music and new friends.

And on this hot Saturday morning, I am happy to be who I am, where I am, doing what I am doing. I have no beautiful pics to share, no two thousand word post, no dramatic story. I have just one fantastic feeling, and that my friends, is worth sharing.

Wishing you all a great weekend, as I head into Saturday evening with my head down and ready to work.

Love from Thailand,