The Spider Totem

It's Wednesday, March 14, 2018. I'm one week into my month-long yoga training in India. It's the wee hours of the morning, and I gotta pee like a banshee.

I raise my hand to the light switch, just above the pillow. As I flick the switch, light disappears the darkness. I glance up towards my hand. All of a sudden, I'm awake. Very awake. Just inches from my fingers is this:

Ehhhh!!!

Ehhhhh, dear god almighty! That spider is bigger than my hand! That thing surely has gigantic teeth...and a deadly bite!

She Shot the Sidewinder

Meet Jill. Jill was my Warm Showers host for two nights at the end of my Pacific Coast tour in 2012.

Me & Jill.

Jill is a rock solid awesome woman. She phoned me a few times during my trip to make sure that all was well. When I got to her place, we shared some amazing conversation. And then right before she dropped me off at the airport, we took her kayaks out onto the Pacific Ocean. I had an absolute blast hanging out with Jill. I wish she and I lived closer.

Jill gave me some great advice. She said, "When you get back to the 'real world,' don't forget the feelings you have experienced on your trip." I took Jill's advice to heart; I didn't let my feelings get buried underneath the day-to-day doldrums of reality -- namely: get up, go to work, rinse-and-repeat. Nope, I'm reliving those great trip feelings over and over and over again.