One Road- Ariann Mieka

While reading a magazine recently I came across a segment that gave single women advice and inspiration on choosing new adventures. They featured a woman who travelled the world alone, another that built her own house (putting in the electricity and plumbing alone and all!) and one who climbed Mount Kilimanjaro. I read all the stories in awe but the one that struck a cord with me the most that day was about a woman who took up the challenge to meditate for a month (like all day long) at a retreat. I had been looking for some new guided meditation sessions or an inspiring meditation program I could read in the attempts to accomplish my goal of meditating every day. In the tips section of the article they mentioned the Insight Timer App so I researched it online and gladly paid the $2.99US to add it to my iPad. (For the iPhone and Android there is a free version and one for $2.99US as well). Unfortunately, the iPad version didn’t feature the guided meditation option but I decided to ...

In my house tea is king! We may have a small selection of coffee (okay…maybe only one type) to offer you when you visit and you can brew it in a machine that was bought in the 80’s. But when it comes to tea, we have a plethora of types to choose from. Just take a glance in the tea chest or in the cupboard and you can even choose what you want to steep it in. As I said, we live on tea here! Tea tastes great and keeps you warm on a cold day. Even more importantly it is beneficial for many health reasons and can be a terrific natural mood booster! Next time your boss springs an unreasonable deadline on you and you want to explode, decide instead to take a tea break! Have your spouse and your kids driven you close to your breaking point? Before you put them all up for adoption turn on the kettle and pick up a tea bag! Tea can even chase your blues away. Choose your herbs fresh from the garden, in a dried form or from the grocery in ready-made tea bags. The aroma and the properties in t...

I first heard of the author Michael Singer and his book "The Untethered Soul" on Oprah’s programme “Super Soul Sunday”. On the show he spoke about the fact that we are not the thoughts that are constantly running through our heads but that the ‘real’ us is the one listening to the thoughts. I was so intrigued by his words and for the next few days all I could notice was my thoughts. I must admit I began to get slightly creeped out as the chatter continued. “Who is this being that is listening to the thoughts in my head?” I had no clue! I rushed out and bought the book! As I read I couldn’t help but message M.E. at odd times of the night to share passages I just read! Below is one of my favorite passages from the book. I’ve always believed that happiness is a choice but somehow the way the author explained it here made a new light shine on the topic for me. Happiness is not only a choice but also a promise or a contract that you make to yourself that no matter what happens y...

I couldn’t ask for a better way to bring in my 30 th birthday than a trip to Cyprus. I always try to celebrate another year of life by doing something special and since 30 is a landmark birthday I wanted to do something big to commemorate the milestone! I didn’t know anything about this island but I fell in love and got excited about the different landscapes, a new favorite local wine called Commandaria and the ever-present reminder of their multifaceted history. Most of the people we encountered were friendly except for the few older rude ladies who gave Verse discerning looks. (Had they never seen a Rastafarian before and more importantly did they miss the day in school when they spoke about not staring at people?) All in all it was a wonderful trip and the next time I visit I have to go over to the Turkish side of the island. I must say a huge thank you to Verse for accompanying me and making the trip extra special! Here are a few images that I took around Cy...

During our last day in Cyprus we stumbled across this charming area called Agios Georgios. The weather was overcast, which ruled out a day at the beach, so instead we were driving around the western city of Pafos. Our exploration took us down to a small fishing harbour where we wandered about enjoying the ocean breeze. From the harbour we saw a church perched on a hillside and ventured up that way. As we parked the car at the church we were greeted by an amazing view of the coast and a rocky island nearby called Geronisos. We went into the large modern Agios Georgios church, then into a small dark old chapel that was nearby. We took a trail that led down onto the cliffs that showcased some eerie tombs carved into the rocky cliffs and then walked through a small archeological site. (At this point Verse had already had his fill of archeological sites but the security guard was so persistent and it seemed like he hadn’t had many visitors that day so we felt obliged to go see th...