"Is your trip as fun as it looks on Instagram?": Reflections Through a Cracked Phone Screen In Galway

It is a gorgeous day in Galway, Ireland. I just ordered a wee bowl of soup and soda bread at a quaint cafe overlooking the River Corrib. When it comes to weather, Ireland has the same low-bar-setting effect that New York had for me—a forecast of all-day rain sets me up to delight in spurts of surprise sunshine. I was reveling in just such a moment today, conveying my enthusiasm via Instagram story. Immediately after recording the video, I felt the need to make a disclaimer that I’m not happy all the time. I’ve been getting a lot of messages from people, “I hope your trip is as fun as it looks on Instagram!” I struggle with how to respond to this. Truly, I am having a great time, but I am not trying to make it seem like that’s all it is. Similarly I’m not trying to brandish the not-so-comfortable parts of my trip to prove something—“See my life isn’t so easy all the time.” I’ve been reading two books on my Kindle for the past two months I’ve been traveling: Start Where You Are by Pema Chödrön and Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris. Both are great reads for getting a burst of inspiration and then putting them back down, savoring them just like I’m savoring this soup and soda bread. (It’s such a rare treat to order food in a restaurant! Did I mention I’ve been living on $23/day?! That’s a story for another post…)

This doesn't look as tasty as it tasted, but I'm giving you the RAW (aka slightly filtered) experience.

Pema Chödrön’s book is all about embracing the painful aspects of our lives to befriend ourselves and cultivate compassion towards others. Yesterday I read this passage, which helped me frame my attitude toward my travel experience thus far:

“I once had an interview with a student who began by saying, ‘This is all pretty depressing, isn’t it? there’s something sort of grim and discouraging about what we’re doing here. Where’s the joy? Where’s the cheerfulness in all of this?” We talked for a while. then at the end of the interview, she had her own insight, ‘I guess the joy comes from getting real.’

“That really struck me. Whether it’s connecting with the genuine heart of sadness and the messy areas of our lives, or connecting with vision and explosion and openness, what’s real is all included in well-being; it’s all included in joy. Joy is not about pleasure as opposed to pain or cheerfulness as opposed to sadness. Joy includes everything.”

Just after mentioning this insight in my Instagram story, I got distracted by a cool boat, stepped onto a mossy rock to take a picture of it, and slipped, muddying my (last pair of clean) pants and shattering my phone screen. Once I realized I was physically okay (don’t worry mom!) I laughed at this perfect opportunity to practice what I was literally preaching in that moment. The thing I love the most about traveling is that I get very tangible ways of waking up to my life every day. When everything is new, I have no choice but to be present. Whether I’m meeting a new friend, taking in a breathtaking landscape, or dealing with a shattered phone screen on the Irish countryside, I have the opportunity to be present and alive in every moment. In this I have found great joy.

The boat that moved me (and my phone screen) to the floor.