Gina Greenlee Quotes

Rest and repose are as much a part of life’s journeys as seeing all we came to see.

This is your first marathon. Possibly, you’ll want it to be your last. Focus on future races draws energy from the one in front of you. Like the mileage that comprises them, train for marathons one at a time.

The help we give to others creates the ripple of good feeling we give to ourselves.

Risk: no full life occurs without it.

If it’s true we only live once, then raise your red velvet curtain every chance you get.

Though I have not lived in New York City for more than two decades, these storytellers – from the United States, Britain and Canada – have touched my heart with their openness, inspired me with their joie de vivre and deepened my appreciation for my hometown as a worldwide phenomenon. Welcome to our New York.

As you consider your next move, practice this definition of trust: the willingness to take steps while simultaneously waiting for “instructions.

I knew I could always earn money from a job. What I didn’t know was could I extend the dream of writing beyond my trip?

What do you believe about who you are? About your capabilities? When was the last time you trusted yourself enough to test them?

At chaos’ core lies the invitation.

Call it walking meditation or a neighborhood stroll; by whatever namesuits you, rediscover the art of meandering.

From the depths of your well, tap your will.

Stand up for yourself by not standing yourself up.

In these pages, traveling “solo” does not necessarily mean “alone.” The absence of other people often suggests regretful isolation. “Solo” by contrast, is a willful decision to be the architect of our own experience.

The cruise was the conduit for what would become my third book. While I was traveling and writing for ctnow.com, women across the United States and from the Caribbean emailed not to ask about my geographic journey but my existential one. “How do you find the courage to travel on your own?” they wondered. “How do you keep from getting lonely? Don’t you feel self-conscious eating out alone?” After the first 30 emails like these I thought, There’s a book here. It would be eight years before I published Postcards and Pearls: Life Lessons from Solo Moments on the Road. But the inspiration for publication came during the cruise.

Once back home I would adjust my lens to the resolution through which I perceived the people and provinces of the globe. My daily commute, the supermarket check out line, neighborhood walks, pedestrian tasks of any job would inspire me as much as the stir of white linen canopies in Venice’s Piazza San Marco; the velvety dunes of the eastern Sahara; Bali’s kaleidoscope of color; my Vietnamese sisters.

When we write down our dreams we transform what we imagine into reality.

When life hands you lemons, why stop at lemonade? Create an entire product line.

If we never challenge our shortcomings, we ensure that they remain our Achilles' heel.

If you want it badly enough, it’s yours.

At times, productivity means doing nothing at all.

Go for it. It will make a great story.

Sometimes our dreams are affirmed in the most unlikely ways by the mostunlikely people. That’s why we need to speak our commitment out loud.

The adventures of a lifetime begin with “Yes.

Much of our lives consists of a series of choices over which we have absolute control.

What would happen if, once back home, I stayed open to possibilities rather than attach to specific outcomes? What if I dreaded no potential storms? Ruminated over no past transgression? I knew how. For decades the reflex kicked in with each plane ride. The more I pondered these questions – How could I cultivate the habit of taking life as it comes? How can I immerse myself in living, like I’m on vacation on all the time, without boarding a plane or crossing a border? – the more I recognized the arbitrariness of the dichotomy between life and travel.

Let your body move. It will give voice to a language that can heal.

Ten years ago I wondered, “How does one travel around the world? How does one step out of a well-established life to follow the dream?” I’ve answered those questions. But now new ones emerge.

We can talk about it, dream about it and dissect the fine print.In the end, only action satisfies our longing.

Putting the dream in motion involved significant personal downsizing, moving three times to trim housing expenses and continuing to freelance. I sold one piece to The New York Times Magazine, many more to The Courant, and another to The St. Petersburg Times.

Those who receive the blessing are those who see beyond its disguise.

Each of us has our definition of adventure: ending an unsatisfyingrelationship, returning to school, parachute jumping or training for amarathon. Go ahead. Get your thrill on.

Indulgence comes in all varieties: a mouthful of gourmet chocolate, a hot stone massage, a week in Paris or 20 uninterrupted minutes to getlost in a book.

Then I’d go home, return to a pattern of worry, unable to tap the surrender core to travel’s inspiration. What was different?

In the aftermath of the attacks on the United States – that included chaotic overall of airline security – and the exploding tensions in Nepal, friends thought it ill-advised for me to board a flight to Kathmandu. Yet my existence at home felt so tenuous and unpredictable that political unrest in Asia barely registered. Also, it seemed more important than ever for me to keep going, not only overseas but also in the direction of a more satisfying life. Somehow the two felt connected.

No matter. I was single, no children, a handful of plants and at 39, young enough to regroup. If I hit ground before I finished building my wings, I would not take anyone with me.

As long as you’re breathing, it’s never too late to reconnect with a long-held love.

Whether you need to make a call or answer one,don’t put your passions on hold.

If companionship is a mandate for all of our experiences, then we will miss out on many of life’s blessings.

In 2006 I had begun the discernment process for locating my rightful geographic home. By the time my corporate pink slip arrived I had spent two years researching and taking recon trips to five different cities in southern California. Having crossed them off my list, in February 2008 I visited Sarasota, Florida, at the urging of a friend who winters in a neighboring town. Though Florida had never been on my radar, only minutes in Sarasota I knew I’d found home.

Large bodies of goal achievement research encourage written goals for good reason. When we write down our goals, we transform what we imagine into reality.

If you’ve broken any promises you’ve made to yourself, now is the time to make up for it.

Never underestimate the lingering effects of a dash of spontaneous comfort.

Till your inner garden and your outer landscape will flourish

Be courageous: be still.

To commune with your heart and soul, be willing to go out of your mind.

Those who walk the talk get the work.

Be who you are. You may not always please but you will never go wrong.

Stop now and always wonder. Press forward and tap the wonder.

Whether by plane, bus or carpet, own the magic in your ride.

No map? No problem. Let commitment and determination lead the way.

The notion of the perfect time is more than myth. It's the ultimate self-delusion.

Don’t wait for a genie to grant your wishes. That power is yours.

Is there a place you can go to break away for a little while? If you haven't yet built your tree house, it's never too late to start.

What do you resist examining up close?How can you ground yourself so you feel safe enough to try?

It's tempting to believe that a break from life's routine will only cause chaos. But regimen does not ensure security. The only constant we can count on is change.

Few experiences are more satisfying than becoming someone we always imagined we could be.

Wandering is not limited to geography. Also an altered state of consciousness, it allows a disembodied self to drift on currents of collective awareness with minimal attachment to the physical world. This state of wander tapped imaginative faculties that opened me to a freedom of being only previously experienced through travel.

An unlimited supply of wonder and trust, bolsters life lived as a process of discovery.

When we establish human connections within the context of sharedexperience we create community wherever we go.