Sweet Georgia

The Strait of Georgia photo by Tabitha Arthur on her ipod

Passing another ferry under a rainbow.

Mist and Tabs plugged in on the ferry.

My happy Pip  (partner in exploring the ferry).

Pip on deck.

Tabs on deck.

Cabin on an island.

The lush shore line of the coastal islands.

Peter at work with his girls nearby.

Me on the windy deck.

Our new neighbor on the window sill of our hotel room at the Hotel Empress. We have the best harbor view. I love this bird. My new best friend 🙂

We have arrived at the Empress Hotel in downtown Victoria. A long day of traveling yesterday with only one small wrong-turn glitch.

Up and finished the hotel gym by 6:30 and soon off for a swim and then breakfast.

Before I left Kelowna, my mind was in a bad spot. It was in a horribly bad spot. I had lost all my mindfulness over the winter and had slacked off in my meditation. Thus, this trip is much needed. I need to get away from the stress of my daily routine in order to reevaluate my mind and get myself back on track for a peaceful life.

I realize, after all of the various mind training I have attempted, that one’s life is never a mess–it is simply one’s mind that gets messy. I have spent the last year so driven to get ahead in my career path that I lost site of everything else. Bureaucratic mistakes that can be described only as pure lunacy, have the power to enrage me lately. And I know in this life, if I allow my mind to become enraged at senseless lunacy created by fellow human beings–I will be enraged 24/7.

I am using these 5 days to focus my mind and change my life path–mindfulness being the front and center of my quests. Without this, then there really is nothing but suffering. I will write of my new path and the changes I’ve decided to make at the conclusion of this vacation–excitement! 😉

My daughters and I will fit in some fun and R&R while Peter conferences and then we’ll have a few days as a family to beach comb and take it easy. Ghost hunting, shopping, walking tours, tea parties, swimming, Zumba are a few things on our list. I’d love to stop by a Buddhist temple too.