Tactile Aliveness

On this blog we share our travel experiences through stories, updates, and photos. 'WOA' is also about traveling into 'aliveness'. For me, that also means waking up dormant senses. I tend to describe things mostly using sight/visual description, and writers are told to engage more senses to try to "show" instead of just "tell".

One time, back in Santa Fe, New Mexico I had a massage treatment where I received a suggestion that when you get too caught up in your thoughts/head, to go "put feet on it." For example, literally rubbing your toes within your shoes to reconnect to the present and "come back to earth". (It helps me, try it if you like.)

One time, in a cenote in Mexico, I was keenly aware of the density and smoothness I felt swimming in the clear blue water. Later on our travels, as we walked along Orange Beach in Pensacola Florida, I noticed how the densely-packed sand felt under my shoes. I also liked how the sand felt at Cocoa Beach, Florida which was solid with a softness on top.

In Reykjavik Iceland, we visited the newly built HARPA Concert Hall/Conference Center which opened in 2011. Its geometric-shaped glass invoked a sort of bubble-plastic texture for me. I also liked the sporadic placement of pastel-colored glass.

I can also remember how the icy snow in Boston felt crunchy when I stepped on it, sort of like a snow-cone.

Recently, as we hiked up 'Arthur Seat' in Holyrood Park (Edinburgh, Scotland) I felt the stability of the solid stones on the path up the hill.

We both felt the smooth ICE train gliding on the tracks to our next destination.

I consider this new tactile awareness as the sense of touch waking up in new ways that help to remain present, while adding more to my experiences and impressions.