From travel paradise to office reality. Palmtrees, flipflops and freedom of time have been replaced by a concrete jungle, high heels and little free time. I have tried to stay in travel paradise, in my mind. To take 5 minutes per day to let my thoughts wonder to the laid-back beaches of Gili Air, to the exciting streets of Delhi, to my colourful yoga mat in Goa. But when time pases it is getting more difficult to get the feeling back. To live in those moments. To feel the happiness and freedom I felt when being in these places.

Of course it is the abundance of sunshine, the sweets smiles, the slow pace of living. But also the relaxed and unrestricted mind which seems to turn on as soon as my backpack and me are ready to go. The ease of picking your outfit from only a few clean options in your bag, the fun of living on a shoestring. The excitement when you take a seat in a local simple restaurant with just a few options on the menu. The thrill of seeing a total bill of only one euro. The open stares and maybe even a shimmer of pride in the eyes of locals, who appreciate you sitting there, eating with them, their food.

Come to think of it. It is the restriction of choice of the ‘must-haves’ which sets you free. Which gives me room to occupy my thoughts with something else then the regular actions of living. Not to worry about how you look, what you wear or where you are going next. Total freedom of thought. Thoughts about life, love, living. Traveling let’s me step into this experience with butterflies in my bones; with a nervous feeling so beautiful, I know I’m doing something right.