Category: Pretty Places

Limitless Power: Waterfalls and Romance in Argentina

On By ambertravelingIn Backpacking, Pretty Places, Spirituality, UncategorizedLeave a comment

You are 17 years old, and it’s the first time you’ve left the country. You are standing at the base of a 200 foot tall waterfall, staring up. You feel a strong mist caressing your face and arms. You feel the power in the sound, a constant pounding, a never-ending collapse and explosion of energy. You are 17 years old, and you feel nothing.

For a moment you lose yourself. What am I? You cease to think. Standing there, next to this miracle, you become nothing.

The next thought in your head is a big one: I am infinite. I am unlimited. I have the potential to do anything I can dream…

To read the full story, visit http://www.wesaidgotravel.com/limitless-power-waterfalls-romance-argentina.  Thanks to WeSaidGoTravel for publishing my writing!

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Manifesting Your Dreams

On By ambertravelingIn Pretty Places, Spirituality, Writings1 Comment

I’m facilitating a writing group called “Manifesting your Dreams.” I create the prompts as well as respond to them. Here is my response to the second prompt.

Writing Prompt: What goals do you have for the next hour? Today? Next week? Next year? Next 10 years? Your life? How will you feel if you accomplish all of your goals? How will you feel if everything changes and you accomplish none of them?

In the next hour I plan to flow, flow, flow. In a few hours I’ll drive my grandma’s clunky old car to my friend’s house, but until then I will do what I feel like. I have some vague goals, such as cooking a yummy lunch and cleaning my room, but in no way am I rushing around to do anything. After traveling for 28 months, I’m so happy to be grounded.

I just went on a run at the beach, did yoga on the sand, doing headstands while admiring the sun glistening off the water and watching the surfers.

I’m home again, and loving life in California. Everything is synchronicity. Living in California where the weather is near perfect every day definitely contributes to my happiness! It would be interesting to see how I feel in a colder climate.

Today, I will collect some lemons and limes from various trees of friends so I can incorporate them into my cleanse. This month I am doing a cleanse with no gluten, no animal products, no alcohol, no added sugar, and no caffeine. I feel great! Next week I plan to do a 24 hour water fast, with no computer or talking. Maybe my voice will come back!

This week I plan to relax as much as possible, and mentally prepare myself to start writing my book. I’m working on some articles for WeSaidGoTravel. I want to make a big calendar with goals on it. I have a creative a space in my living room set up already.

Usually I go to some kind of evening activity, such as meditation, yoga, ultimate frisbee, or swing dancing.

In the next year, I want to write my book, earn a little money, and see my sister in Washington DC. In September my plan is to go back to the Philippines to volunteer for a few months, and then head to Japan to start a 1-year teaching English contract with the JET program. If I’m not accepted into the JET program, I might stick around for Christmas in California again, not sure – but I will head to Japan at some point and to find a job as a teacher. I also go into detail about this on my Bucket List.

All these plans are not set in stone, I’m open to flexibility and new things, nothing is booked. I’m footloose and fancy free, as they say!

I envision my 20’s being all about me, learning and developing my skills, helping others but mostly on improving myself. This means teaching, working for nonprofits, spending time with family and friends, doing what I want, but primarily focusing on Self Love!! No reservations or judgments, I love myself completely.

My 30’s I can see myself starting a non-profit, or going to work for another one. I have a vision of starting a project involving kids, music, and art, like a free community center. It will also offer classes in finance and English, and other practical skills. I might start in Puerto Princesa, Palawan, since I know the place already. My friend suggested I have a base in Australia. Or its possible I will do something with the homeless people in the USA, which is a huge problem in my hometown.

After that, from age 40 to 99, or 115, I want to have a family and continue to help with my nonprofits, but mostly focus on my kids and my family. I think I want to be based in California, close to my parents, but have some other places where I can stay in Asia, like in the Philippines and Indonesia.

It’s a lot of pressure that I put on myself to do these things, and I have to keep reminding myself that if it doesn’t happen that I will still love myself unconditionally. It’s a struggle to balance my drive and my determination with complete acceptance of myself and all my faults and mistakes!

Regardless of my 23 year old mind fighting with my infinite soul, I have a vision of myself on my deathbed. I’m about to die, and I look back at my life with satisfaction and gratitude, knowing that I did my best and made a difference to the world. Most importantly I will look back and smile, knowing that I learned how to love myself fully.

Self Love

On By ambertravelingIn Pretty Places, Spirituality, UncategorizedLeave a comment

I’m facilitating a writing group called “Manifesting your Dreams.” I create the prompts as well as respond to them. Here is my response to the second prompt.

Write for at least 5 minutes about this question:
What do you love about yourself? In other words, what are your talents and strengths?

I decided to do it in list format, because I’m a virgo and I love lists.

Name: Amberly Young
Age: 23
Favorite Colors: Yellow, White, Red, and Turquoise
Occupation: World Traveler, Writer, Musician, Artist, Teacher, Philanthropist… but I don’t want to shut any doors, so my occupation is Student and Teacher of Life! Anything and everything.
Interests: Freedom, Generosity, Ultimate Frisbee, Swing Dancing, Healthy Eating, Spirituality, Goal Setting, List Making, Reading, Writing, Drawing, Painting, Talking to Strangers, Yoga and Meditation, Practicing Infinite Love! Everything.
Right now: Wearing fuzzy maroon bathrobe, in the living room of my parents house where I grew up in. Maple the lovable yellow lab maple is snoring.

My Talents and Strengths:

1. Courage. To travel, talk to strangers, to be free, to have no inhibitions. To teach and to be taught. I regained my innate child-like total freedom feeling recently, at the raw food yoga detox center I lived at for 2 months the Philippines. I am turning back into a child! YES! This comes in handy, and is connected to everything.

2. Creativity. In everything I do: Art Cooking Music Daily Life, it just exudes out of me. I can’t help it. I play piano, guitar, flute, drums a little, and I sing A LOT. I know that I am capable of any creative project I set my mind to. Same with sports or anything expressive. Recently I’ve been trying to apply this attitude to everything, such as math and science, which are subjects which intimidated me in the past. Now I know I can do anything.

3. Enthusiasm!!! I throw myself into things one hundred percent without holding back. In the Philippines I had a spiritual awakening because I was SO OPEN and eager to learn everything. Sometimes my friends and family warn me to be more cautious. While I value their input, I think this quality has taken me very, very far in life so far.

Lots of people warned me not to do a solo motorbike trip in Taiwan, and that was such a life changing experience. For 5 days I zoomed down the coastal highway,  finding my way in a country where there are no signs in English – without a smartphone! I had written down names and phone number of places to stay, and miraculously I made it!

There’s a difference between careful and paranoid, and I think I’ve proven I can take care of myself. I do want to be cautious, maybe, but not paranoid! Read my article about traveling alone as a woman for more info about this.

4. Organization. I am all about making lists (as you can tell) and manifesting my dreams via writing, art, music, and with a calendar. I’m all about TAKING ACTION!! I have a pen and paper wherever I go, and I always carry business cards – I had 1000 made in the Philippines for $25! I am excellent at networking and keeping track of the people I’ve met abroad.

5. Love. I love everyone. I love everything. In this moment my love for the world is so powerful it hurts, sometimes its too much. It’s hard for me to hear about all the wars and violence in the world, so I don’t watch the news much. I’m inspired by more positive stories, as my friends volunteering in the Philippines doing permaculture in a tiny village, watch the video here. Like them, I want to spread joy and light to the world! The next step to this is unconditional love for myself.

One final question: How do I do all of this and be empty and nothingness at the same time? I am everything but I am nothing. Or am I? I feel all powerful, with moments of nothingness sprinkled in between. Any advice? Comments? Critique?

Feel free to do this writing prompt on your own, and if you feel inspired you can email it to me! I’ll respond.

Thanks for reading.