A few years ago (2004) my mom came to visit. We took my daughter to go see Beauty and the Beast at the Little Theatre. She dressed up in her Disney Belle dress and wig for the show. We went to Starbucks after the play to enjoy a fancy cup of hot chocolate. On my coffee cup, there was a quote that I quickly jotted down on my napkin. It was familiar and it turns out it was in a book I’d recently read called Tales of a Female Nomad by Rita Golden Gelman. Everyone has made such a huge deal out of Eat, Pray, Love. I finally broke down and read it. Was it good? Yes. Did I like it? It was OK. I enjoyed Tales better though. The author travels with instinct, trust and intuition as well as minimal funds, and I love it! If you like to read books about self discovery (where no one paid you a book deal up front) to travel the world and find yourself, I suggest this book. Her travels are raw and spontaneous. Rita lived with the people in the villages, cooked on their fires and slept on their dirt floors! Rita’s quote was #31 on that Starbucks cup as we enjoyed hot beverages that October evening!
Risk-taking, trust and serendipity are key ingredients of joy.
