After returning from my trip to Beijing, I could feel a new season beginning in my life again. It is said for a lot of Chinese, going to Beijing is a mecca of sorts. It got me to thinking about our own personal journeys or markers we have for ourselves that help us to recognize something or encourage us to self examine.

Travelling to Beijing gave me yet again a new perspective on this country. China changes for me all the time. This city brings with it a whole other set of cultural and political values and traditions. Walking on the same territory as emperors, protestors, and other travellers is overwhelming, sobering and worth examining. It reaffirmed for me why I think I am having this experience over here. I want to look at the world in the face with a big question mark. To take my time, observe, engage, learn and attempt to come to terms with what I'm seeing.

I have a friend who lives in Canada, and even though we are halfway across the world, she is a quiet voice of encouragement to me. She said, recently... " I've been feeling this overwhelming feeling of something inexplicably larger than myself looming, hovering around every corner. Around every movement. Around every thought". As I have been travelling, I have felt this same sort of presence. Everything seems to become bigger than you can imagine, and yet smaller and so much closer at the same time. In a world where its easy to feel lost or confused, there is a point when things start to become familiar in way.

Just some thoughts I was tossing over tonight.