Namaste Saathi!
In December 2017, I set an intention that would permeate my life so resolutely that 2018 will forever be considered the year I learned to change my world with my heart. Each year end I assign a focus for the approaching trip around the sun. In the past, they have ranged from “Light” as a reminder to take myself less seriously, “Grace” when I felt I had fallen from it, and even “Cressida” to remember to be true to myself. On Dec 30th, 2017, I set sail for Sri Lanka with a newly minted intention printed in block letters on the first page of a fresh journal: “PEACE IN 2018.” It was unimaginable then how, with perseverance and oftentimes uncomfortable vulnerability, each of my decisions would revolve around and result in finding peace.
Everyone has their own happiness cocktail: a dash of eating right, a sprinkle of spending more time with loved ones, and always a dollop of improving one’s shape. This year I went BIG - diving straight in with hyperbolics:
Meditation practice? How about 4 multi-day silent retreats and becoming an active member of your community.
Let’s run a Half Marathon this year! Or two. Both trail runs.
Time with family and friends is clearly a must: 3 international trips later and monthly visits to my best and brightest - Check!
Oh, and no drinking or social media just to ensure I remain mindful and committed.
Then for the cherry on top: applying and being invited to serve in the Peace Corps in my favorite place on the globe: Nepal! Come ON, Cressida! It even has Peace in the title. I’m not exaggerating when I tell you I’ve over-exaggerated this year’s intention!
11 years ago, debating which would come first between 2 paths, I felt drawn to accomplish both goals in this lifetime.
Path #1: volunteering abroad in a long-term humanitarian post OR
Path #2: a solo trip around the world.
When I learned that I could join the PC at any age and recognizing that youth hostel jumping is best suited for the young, I chose Path #2 and did not look back. On that trip, 28 countries were explored with Nepal at the top of the list of those where a piece of my heart was left. Anyone who knows me knows I refer to it as my “Happy Place”. Going directly from my first 10-day silent Vipassana retreat to the Himalayas, my freshly ripped open heart was ripe for absorption. In a place where the people’s generosity of spirit is as boundless as the mountains that tower over them, I was humbled so profoundly that it changed me to the core.
It is with this fervor and respect for the Nepalese that I begin another journey with the aspirations of giving back even just a fraction of what they have already given me. Supplied with the tools that I've learned over the past 10 years and especially via my quest for peace, I feel more confident than ever that I chose correctly when opting to postpone Path #1 until this exact moment.
Please read my PC application essay to understand further how I arrived at this decision and what I would like to accomplish during the next 27 months.
Dhanyavād!
