Gratitude in Practice: Kyria!!!

Gratitude can take a lot of forms — a stunning mountaintop view, a kind stranger offering a cold drink, a clean public bathroom that actually has toilet paper when you need it!

When I started thinking about the ways travel might reshape or influence how we experience gratitude, Kyria was the first person who came to mind. Not only is she incredibly well-traveled, she’s also thoughtful and candid which seems like the perfect mix to reflect on the connection between seeing and appreciating the world.

Enjoy the ride as she talks yellow, Eminem lyrics, and teleporting to hug her mom.

Would you consider yourself an optimist, a pessimist, or a realist?

I am 100% a realist; I think this can come across as a pessimist to some, but I like to look at all the facts and make decisions based on what I find versus cheerfully hoping things will just work out. I think things work out because you work to make them happen, although a positive attitude can help the process go more smoothly! [Yes, I sometimes wonder if things go smoothly regardless of my choices, or because I fretted and planned things with alarming detail which led to them going smoothly…?]

If gratitude were a colour, what colour do you think it would be?

I think gratitude has to be yellow, because to me, yellow is very cheerful, so we are happy aka grateful when good things happen, or when bad things are not as bad as they could be. Yellow is so cheerful. [What a gorgeous collage of photos! These are very cheerful.]

If you could send a thank-you note to one person from your past (mentor, friend, family member, etc.), who would it be, what would you thank them for, and why?

I would send a note to Mr. Bryan, my teacher from 2nd grade to 6th grade (one room classroom!) I know my parents did help a lot with this too, but I think Mr. Bryan gave me a love of learning, and the ability to try new things. Since we were a small school, he would do fun projects and we were not always stuck with the regular curriculum. I remember he took me and the one other 6th grader to his house and we stayed the night and went to the county fair in the closest large town with him and it was magical. He was a good guy. [Full disclosure, when I heard your teacher brought two grade 6 students home alone with him to stay the night my alarm bells involuntarily started ringing. I do NOT think that would happen now. But it sounds like he was an absolutely wonderful influence in your life. I can’t think of something I’d want to do less than visit a county fair these days, but as a kid, I loved the summer fair my dad would sometimes take me to.]

Is there anything you’ve learned to appreciate more as you’ve gotten older that you used to overlook or didn’t care about?

The older I get, the more I appreciate people’s differences. When you are young, you tend to want to categorize things and people, and so sometimes it is a little bit of an us or them attitude. However, now I still see the differences, but I can embrace them more, and I know that maybe some of them are better than whatever I am doing, or whatever I believe. I guess long story short, I am more open minded, and I can appreciate learning new things about all kinds of things, places, and people.

Do you have any daily or weekly gratitude practices? If so, please describe!

Not any regimented ones, no. However, I often see things when I am out and about and I get momentary pings of gratitude, sometimes every day, more than once a day, or at the most random moments! I may take a photo (or a few hundred) of something that is interesting, or that makes me happy or brings me joy, and later I will look at it and be glad that I did that thing, saw that thing, or met that person. [I love those fleeting pings of gratitude! I sometimes think of it in the context of my experience as a reader. Sometimes I remember a lot of details — which I might equate with taking a picture, or writing about it — but sometimes it’s simply a pleasant, but transient, experience. Either way, I NEVER forget how a book made me feel. And the same is true of lots of moments of gratitude. I can’t always remember specifics but I can remember how good I felt on a hike, even if I don’t have any pictures to show for it.]

What’s something you appreciate now that you might have overlooked before?

There are so many things, but one of the biggest ones is that I appreciate myself! I always identified as a shy, introverted person, but travel has made me have to go and talk to people, even in a different language sometimes, or figure out how to do something that I have never done before. You know what though? I can do it, no matter how hard. And it is hard, but I am grateful that I have tried and mostly succeeded in these things that I may have once thought that I could not do. (Side note: I have seen people defecating in a gutter in public and things like that make me VERY grateful to have toilets, running water, and other things like this that we often take for granted!) [Every summer until I was a teen we spent a whole month each summer in a remote cabin with an outhouse and no electricity. Looking back, those adventures offered a unique kind of magic. But as an adult, I am incredibly grateful for indoor plumbing and lighting that’s available night or day with a flick of my finger.]

What’s one destination or travel experience that surprised you with how grateful it made you feel?

There are so many, and some are huge; however, sometimes the small things are just as monumental. Last year when I was riding my bike, the bike trail that I had planned on going on was closed and I had to ride on a very busy highway in Canada, over a huge pass with 18 wheelers and a very small shoulder. I was so wiped emotionally and physically. I finally got over the summit, and to a rest stop where lo and behold, there was WiFi(!) and I needed to make a call to my real estate agent, so I sat at a table to do that and just when I got off the phone a man came up and offered me a sparkling fruit water and I just wanted to kiss him. I did not kiss him but I did say yes to the water. That little gesture just made my day completely better! [That sounds exhausting!! How kind of someone to offer cold water — I can see why the memory stands out!]

Do you think the act of exploring new places has deepened your sense of gratitude for your own home and community?

Yes, and no. Yes, I miss my family/friends/community, and I see groups of people walking or eating or having their holidays and I do miss that and am really glad to have it when I do go home or when people come and visit me. Also sometimes you just crave a good burrito! However, I also see some of the negative things about my home country that I am missing and I am not sad about that in the least. Also, I don’t miss my actual house. I see people living with much less than we have and I think that yes, it makes me grateful for what I have the potential to have, but no, it does not make me need it or want to have certain things just because I can. I feel like instead it is a good learning experience or lesson that I should take into consideration. So I guess I am grateful for that!

How do you cultivate a sense of gratitude while navigating the challenges and unpredictability of travel

Just like the sparkling water, this can manifest in small ways. I am grateful that I figured out where the train station is, got on the right train, and it left on time. I am grateful to get to try a new food, or meet a new person. I am grateful that there was a room available in the place I am headed to next. I am grateful for the internet and for my phone (because I had to travel without them!!!) I am grateful that my shoes have held up long enough to get to a bigger city….there are probably dozens of these little things each day. [If we stop to actually consider the base elements of our day — logistics, infrastructure, etc — there is a lot of gratitude fodder!]

When you think of all the different people you’ve met on your travels, who do you feel most grateful for, and why?

I am grateful for the people doing things that I may have thought were crazy at first, but after hearing what they tell me, make me want to do these things too, or go to these places, or try these foods etc. Other travelers have opened up my world so much, and you know what, they continue to do so! I will never know what I don’t know and I need them to help me find out!

Do you think there’s a connection between gratitude and adventure? Do you feel more grateful the more you explore?

Going back to your first question, as a realist, I think that you can do anything you put your mind to, if you provide yourself with the right tools, including the right attitude. So, I think that I adventure and explore because I have gained the confidence over the years through experience and a lot of mistakes! I am grateful that I have learned, and am still learning, and will continue to learn. So I guess the answer to your question is that I don’t feel exponentially more and more and more gratitude, but I continue to be grateful that I have not reached a point in my life where I am not as interested in learning and exploring! [I’m so glad that adventuring is still bringing you so much joy!]

How do you express gratitude for the experiences you’ve had on your travels — blogging, photography, or something else?

I express gratitude for the experiences by sharing. Whether this is by talking with other travelers, or yes, sharing words or photo. I think talking about the adventures, answering questions and hopefully inspiring others through whatever medium I can, is my “pay it forward” so to speak.

What’s the most awe-inspiring view or trail you’ve hiked that made you feel profoundly grateful?

Elisabeth, how can I choose my favorite child!? How about I will show you a recent one, because I would have to share about 5 million photos if I shared all of my views and trails that made me happy and grateful! [I’m heartless, and even still you evaded my attempts to get you to play favourites.]

Do you find that spending time in nature leaves you feeling grateful in ways that urban travel doesn’t?

Definitely. I love the history and the pulse of a city, but my happy place is definitely something out in nature and away from people. It just gives me that je ne sais quoi feeling that I can’t really describe. John Muir, who used to roam the Sierra Nevada mountains, always said that the mountains were as good as any church he had been in, because he felt even closer to God there, and I definitely think there is something so magical and spiritual about being a small being in such a vast wilderness. It does make you appreciate life, the world and all of its parts (especially BIG ROCKS)! [Walking along a wooded trail is my favourite outdoor setting, I think. The smell of evergreens, birds singing, the awe of being surrounded by tall trees, and the hushed quiet of a forest.]

How do you ensure that the travel lifestyle you’ve chosen continues to feed your sense of gratitude rather than lead to burnout or complacency?

That is something that I am still working on! I think that curiosity can help with that a lot, but also learning my limits is important. I think scheduling more quality and less quantity is important. However, I want to keep learning, as I feel that is a cornerstone of travel for me. So I am trying to have a good blend of finding new adventures and quiet time to savor them and mull them over before moving on to the next thing. [Life is always going to have ups and downs, regardless of what our days look like and where we live. You’re still going to run into many of the frustrations, complications and irritants everyone else has in their life. It’s wise to be intuitive with your energy levels and interest in being on the move.]

Best money you’ve spent recently?

I had about a week long gap in my plans where I didn’t have anything in the books yet, and I decided to go where the wind took me. It took me to a small mountain town in the Caucasian mountains, where I took myself out to dinner every night, and even got a couple glasses of wine. Being a person who often grocery shops and/or eats a lot of bread and cheese, it was quite a treat to go out for dinner over and over and to not worry about the cost, and to try a bunch of new foods! [YUM!]

What’s the most useless (or weirdest) piece of trivia or skill you’re secretly proud to know?

I have a good memory for song lyrics. I can listen to a song once and then sing (mostly) along with it the next time I hear it. I also remember the words to a lot of older songs, like I could right now, word for word, sing the entire The Way I Am song by Eminem, with no backup music. [Indy would approve as he enjoys listening to clean versions of rap songs. I generally remember lyrics to song choruses only and then get stuck singing that snippet over and over and over and over until I slowly drive myself — and my family — crazy.]

What’s one compliment someone has given you that you’ve never forgotten?

I am actually not a fan of compliments; I know that sounds weird, kind of, but I get all sweaty and I don’t know how to react. It is like giving a speech where you don’t know what to do with your hands. I am not sure what to do with my face or voice. I also sometimes don’t love my birthday, or when I get gifts and I feel that I have to be appropriately grateful for them in front of the giver. I am also not great at giving them (gifts or compliments!), not surprisingly. I tend to show my love through actions or spending time together rather than words or gifts. But to answer your question, people have told me that I am determined, for example after I passed all three levels of the CFA or rode my bike across the country, and I like to think that it is true! So I will take that one and cherish it! [This is a very “Kyria” answer; you are definitely determined!]

What’s the most ridiculous or oddly specific thing you can think of being grateful for at this exact moment?

That I was born. Haha. Hear me out. First my parents got pregnant very early in their dating life (like a couple of months, oops!) Then they decided to have me, but my Dad wanted to deliver me (he, himself!) at home (!) but I did not want to come out. It could have ended badly but they took my Mom to the hospital and extracted me safely. I am very happy about that. [You were showing your determined streak early. Who wants to leave the warmth and comfort of a womb to be born into a bright, busy world! You were smart to resist. I’m so glad everything worked out.]

What’s the best piece of advice anyone has ever given you?

This is going to be boring, and I am sure I have received some stellar emotional advice, but I think a friend of the family telling me to start early in my retirement savings journey really was a great one. And surprisingly, despite being 18 and a know it all, I listened to him. I tend to like to try most things on my own and make my own mistakes, but this is one that I am glad that I did not do that with.

What are two things you are objectively terrible at doing — one you wish you were good at and another you don’t care about?

I wish I were better at keeping in touch with people. I don’t love texting just for texting sake and would rather spend actual face to face time with people; however, obviously that is not always possible, and I really need to work on my texting/social media communication skills.

I don’t care that I am not good at singing, I am going to keep doing it anyway, because you know why? Because…the hills are alive with the sound of music, that’s why! Or as Eminem would say…I am whatever you say I am and if I wasn’t then why would I say I am?

If your life were a movie, what genre would it be and who would play you?

It would definitely have to be action and my girl Gwyneth already said she was interested. [I feel like you’ve thought about this before…]

What’s the best prank you’ve ever pulled off or had pulled on you?

I am not a prankster. I am a boring realist who likes facts, not jokes. I hate being embarrassed or surprised and so I don’t really want people to prank me, nor would I prank them.

If you could teleport anywhere in the world right now, where would you go and why?

Can I come back too? [Sure. I’ll allow it just this once.]

If so, I would probably beam myself to my parents house, hug them, have dinner and then come back to where I am now. Because everyone needs a Mom hug from time to time! [So true! I got some last week.]

What way do you place toilet paper on the holder – over or under? Inquiring minds want to know.

Girl you know there is only one way, and that is over. [I know and you know, but I try to make it seem like there is more than one acceptable answer to trap unsuspecting guests into admitting they go UNDER. *Shudder*. It’s a trick question and you passed with flying colours.]

However, where I am now, there often is no TP, so I carry some in my pocket in a wudge, or I just use a bum gun to spray things off down there, therefore negating the need for this argument. And on that note….! [I had never, ever heard the word “wudge” before; I think it’s like a wad?]

Toodles!

(If you’re keen to hear Kyria answer even more questions, I have good news — she’s guest posted for me before).

Thanks, Kyria. This was so fun. I hope your travels bring you back to Nova Scotia very soon.

Your turn.

• Any questions for Kyria?
• Tell me your funniest travel bathroom story.
• What would you prefer — a walk amidst towering skyscrapers or towering trees?