Tag: travel

Only Insane People Like Me Would Do Such A Thing

On By Rebekka LienIn UncategorizedLeave a comment

Runny nose, blocked ear, weak body, thoughts of despair and desperation.

Why? Why me, now? And why was I so insane to book a flight to Ecuador without knowing if I could pay for my trip.

Only insane people like me would do such a thing.

I guess you can call it faith, not blind, but a steady faith, a stable faith knowing -I’ve done it before. The heavens supported my way through, it could happen again. Every time I tend to reach a point of “OMG I’M GIVING UP!”- actually I reach that point at least once a month. Somehow the universe likes to make you really really extremely “HELPLESS” and then, something happens. 

That’s my pattern anyway. It’s not my favorite, because it puts me in a vulnerable place of “omg what am I going to do”. I like to think that God rewards the insane for their faith, not based on their current circumstances, but believing my vision is legit, true, and noble for every resource to come together for.

Send me to Ecuador because I make dreams come true for people.

How to light fire, just light it.

IF you can’t believe in your own dreams and yourself, how can anyone believe in you and your dreams?

The Art of Simplicity- Quotes of Wisdom From Rebekka

On By Rebekka LienIn UncategorizedLeave a comment

A purist is one who desires that an item remain true to its essence and free from adulterating or diluting influences. -wikipedia

My definition may be a bit different, but essentially living a purist lifestyle means that you live simply, you know your priorities and you live for the things that you determine to be important. Your motives are purely towards that which you intend to live for.

I was standing near the sink, watching the ants crawl up and down this candy wrapper. In such miniscule detail of life, I noticed my pure attention to it. That which was just a passing thing had become amusing to me. I have become more alert to every detail because over the months of cleansing myself from societal norms and thoughts, my thought pattern had flipped drastically. 

Because I am more at peace with my heart, I listen more.

I have learned that those that disagree with you, it’s better to agree to disagree.

Be the person you want to be, and you’ll change the world that way.

Instead of bullying myself to be a workaholic like I used to be, I know the divine will take care of me.

Instead of planning to the detail, I allow the day to take me by the hand.

I am not restrained by time, I do what I love- I write, draw, work, commune with others when my heart is in the right place.

I am nicer to myself- this, I believe is one of our BIGGEST pressures. We are our own bully.

I take criticism lightly, and don’t allow others’ negative energy to infiltrate my heart. I guard my heart from accepting lies.

Allow time to heal, to accept, to forgive others. Do not force yourself or bully yourself to think “I have to change overnight”.

Observe light, observe nature, and you will find the true heartbeat for your life. There is a reason that mother earth lives in the pace that it does.

Don’t think you have to know everything, for knowledge can be useless without wisdom.

Become wise, not to manipulate, but to help and feed.

Don’t be envious of others’ success, rejoice with them and be patient with your own.

Every person has a different timeline.

Put PEOPLE first, work and money last. For you will know that when you have no work or money, true friends will stand by you.

Money is a concept, it doesn’t exist. It is a currency that can only by material goods and services, but if you can live happy with less, you have achieved a rare enlightenment.

Don’t allow others’ norm to become yours. Of course, only if you want it to. Just because other people are jumping off the cliff doesn’t mean you have to. If God has given you a unique path, the earlier you accept your gift, the earlier you will become a pioneer, and less lonely you will feel. Well, you’re never alone. There are thousands of people that have the same vision as you, you only need to walk your path to find the people that will eventually cross paths with you. 

Thus, you’ll never know success until you follow your heart, your dreams, your passion. You’ll never meet the right people if you keep saying “I will, I hope”. You’ll only meet them if you declare “I am”. I am a pioneer, I am a writer, I am a leader, I am a world changer in the making and I’ll be someone that people will line up to see.

If no one believes in you, believe in yourself. You are your own best friend. 

And if you read this, I believe in you, I believe in your dreams. Do email me if you need an e-pal- rebekkalien@gmail.com

I’ll be going to Ecuador in May– despite the impossibilities of going, I made it happen and know that somehow, funds will come in. Join me! 

After the storm. Peace.

Preparing For Ecuador: Allow PEOPLE To Interrupt Your Travel Plans

On By Rebekka LienIn Uncategorized1 Comment

Plans are great.

But they never go the way you expect them to. Something always goes “wrong”.

But perhaps the universe is guiding you to something even better, beyond your wildest dreams.

I got approved to meet Andi Marco today! I’ve been sponsoring since 2009 and will be going to Ecuador to visit him and do some GOOD in the world. His dad is a farmer. He is going to school because I’ve sent him! This is one of the greatest thing you can do for someone- give them education. Education is the first step to opening up a world of possibilities. Join me!

So even though a part of me is freaking about logistics, finance, fundraising, planning my return flight, itinerary, rent, work…

A still small voice says to “calm down and I’ll take care of you”.

This has been true for 6 of my overseas trips. I started going on international volunteer trips when I was 18. I went to Taiwan at 18, Japan at 19, Germany at 20, Taiwan at 21, China/Hong Kong at 22, Australia at 23. At first I went on very structured trips, consisting of waking up at 6 am and sleeping at 12 am. The day was filled to the  brim with ACTIVITIES. Then I went with other organizations that allowed you to have freedom to be, to explore, to engage. Pretty soon, I learned to allow time and space for the PEOPLE of the land to be priority on my trips. It’s unfortunate that people travel only for the sights and scenes.

What makes a country what it is- is it’s culture, it’s people. People are the ones that make the culture.

From my experience, I believe PLANS limit us from the most pleasant surprises that make our trip meaningful. It’s those divine connections, those moments in space that two people meet. That one person you meet, that you could NOT have if you weren’t there. That person will forever change the course of your life, as small as the encounter was. Vice versa.

This is true of our own lives. We can plan when we want to graduate, to work, to marry. We can plan our stability to the detail, but in the end, it’s people that makes our lives what it is.

Thus, allow PEOPLE to interrupt you, not all the time of course. Let people become important in your daily routine, work and life.

Be unconditional, forgive easily, and be offended minimally. Know that people are different and accept their differences; cherish their upbringing and background. Let their hearts be nurtured by who you are.

Note: this is coming from someone who used to plan to the minute, if you are ultra opposite, please take these advice lightly. All that I write about is from my experience, not an ultimatum of law.

The friends I can always count on when I’m back in LA. LA will always be my home!

Taiwan

Switzerland- became friends with a airplane buddy

As I embark on another journey of love- check out my campaign, join me, support me or give! 

I am at $150 and am aiming to raise $4,500 ($5,000 minus website fees) in 20 days. Believe in me and trust that every journey I take, I am making a difference in someones’ life. Our world is interconnected, not one person is an isolated individual. Thus when you support me, you are making a difference in areas of this earth that you may never go to yourself. Thanks for your constant support!

Help Me See Marco!

On By Rebekka LienIn UncategorizedLeave a comment

Yesterday I was just getting worried about life and well, what am I doing with my life. Again, the old familiarities of worry. Then I prayed that I would prosper and be blessed despite this season of dryness and struggling.

The next day, I woke up and my friend had an amazing idea for fundraising for my Ecuador trip where I’ll see my sponsored child of 4 years. I’ll also be volunteering at the organizations’ school and HOPEFULLY if Brasil responds, go on a Journalist Press Trip to see the Brasil Fashion Industry!

This time I’m bringing sea sick pills and lots of allergy pills – as Australia has taught me. My body is allergic to the beach.

Help me volunteer in Ecuador May 13!
I have 21 days to fundraise on – http://www.indiegogo.com/alien

OR you can donate through Paypal.

Help Me See Marco! Campaign Video

Marco & His Drawings!

Marco!

I will be arriving in Quito, Ecuador on May 13th around 1pm. May 15th I’ll be going to Tena where Marco is….and the adventure will continue. Hopefully I’ll have internet. Not sure if I’ll bring my laptop yet. This trip may entitle one backpack for traveling purposes.

License of a Higher Order of Beings

On By Rebekka LienIn UncategorizedLeave a comment

The winds are particularly strong today.

Loneliness can be such an unsettling disease. At first you are okay with the things that complicate your life, the art that stimulates your eye, the décor and the clothes. Those exterior fancies seem to come and go, the hand, the human interactions are what resonate in our mind. Someone breathing, smiling, eyes alive compared to a room full of things. It is also unsettling how little I can get rid of.

I keep selling my things off and for some reason, it looks like I have more. The things keep haunting me. For most of us, our lives become more and more complicated, intricate, interwoven, spun faster when we get older. Responsibilities pile, social media boggles our mind day and night, technology tends to complicate rather than simplify.

The rat race is tiring.

Sometimes my brain would stop thinking, but when I’m alone the question of life forces their way into my head like h20 seeping through cracks in wooden doors. Now I realize, work isn’t everything. Without love we are prone to become robots and machines, without affection, we are but heartless creatures. What does silence have to say about us human beings?

A hunger for the good life lies deep within us all. But it requires an honest evaluation of who we are and how we are living. Some manage to avoid these hard questions for years, or even for a whole lifetime- diligently going with each year’s flow without pausing to imagine other possible destinations. With the passing of years, our childhood dreams are pierced by reality. Our daily lives are filled with obligations and pressures. As we grow older, we drift away from “what could be” towrad a life shaped not by personal vision or calling but by circumstance and compromise”- Life Entrepreneur

“You need to understand that the world you see outside of you is a reflection of what you see inside of you. If you see only problems and darkness and despair, that’s all it’s ever going to be. If you are a person who sees hope and opportunity and the face of God, then you can be one with the people who make real change”.

“If one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexppected in common hours. He will pass an invisible boundary; new, universal, and more liberal laws will begin to establish themselves around and within him; and he will live with the license of a higher order of beings”. 

Pictures taken in Australia

+ Take Time to Grow– Herbs and nature take time to grow, so do we! We need time and space to be nurtured into beautiful beings.

+ Live life in truth– without truth we live a lie, we must love truthfully, speak truth in love, and let love guide us.

+ Lean into your pain– do not run away, escape or deny your pain. Those times of hurt, lean into it. Lean all your might, your being into the pain because in pain, you will encounter truth. In pain, you will find again who you were before the lies robbed you of your rights, your inheritance.

Events coming up– Me playing on cello and selling my jewelry (http://rebekkalien.storenvy.com) March 17th (Honey Badger Cafe in Alhambra). This will be an innovative, totally random, fun even consisting of music, fun and art with Justine Tsayfan. More info coming up soon!! Hope to see you there!

Life The Romance

On By Rebekka LienIn art, Fashion, travel1 Comment

I’m pretty upset because I spent a whole 30 minutes or more typing up a blog post and of course, I was impatient and kept clicking publish, but the internet slowed and somehow I closed it without saving it. This is a writer’s worse nightmare.

I had such good words to share, but now I’m not in the mood for it.

I’ll be straight up then- I met a friend in Melbourne who inspired beauty in my heart. His smile and carefree laughs, jumping on the street for no reason made me realize that “Man! I’m not alone!”. Our mutual love for music, dance, street art, and nice areas to lounge sparked a friendship that would potentially last for life. He stirred up beauty in my heart and I will always remember him for it. He also taught me to grasp each moment and cherish the now. This is so contrary to American culture, and I could only have learned that from a French person- to live life with passion and zest.

In America, I feel, sometimes it’s so easy to be talking to another person, and checking your phone at the same time. It’s so easy to bypass another person without a second thought. It’s easy to go from one appointment to another without actually “THINKING”. OMG BIG SURPRISE. It’s so true because I was once like that. I hate that. I really do. How can you live life without being aware of self, others, and your atmosphere? How can you live life without being “here” and in the “now”? How can you constantly worry about the future when “now” is all you have?

I’ve learned that on my trip, I’ve experienced it. You can only experience “just being” by being in the moment, by experiencing being, being aware of the sounds, the smells, the persons, the environment, by being where you are in the now.

Mon Melbourne Cherie

Found in a bathroom in Melbourne toilet. 🙂

 

Chinese Art Subversive

On By Rebekka LienIn Uncategorized3 Comments

This is so RAD! It’s funny how when people think “chinese art”, they always think of serene waters and waterfall scenes with trees. You know, those chinese art things with calligraphy? Let me tell you, there’s a whole movement of pop and abstract artists…that can’t be told they are only chinese- they are human for crying out loud. Let artists unite the peoples of the earth!

I got a map of CHINA for my birthday, it was the sweetest and most thoughtful gift I’ve gotten so far. Seriously, looking at names of places in the world makes me drool. I can hardly fathom the exotic cultures that awaits me. Even as my friend described the dirtiness of the trains, the hot air making your face dirty, the sweat making your skin stick to fabric…almost reminds me of good and bad times in Taiwan. One time, the humid air made my asthma act up so bad that I started getting sick.

I couldn’t breathe and I was sick as a bird. Another time, this dog ran up to me. I was like, “ohhh how cute”. But then the dog started humping my leg!! My friend got a good picture of it. haha. I remember in Germany, my teammates were like SO SICK of thick bread because it had ten thousand seeds and wheat in it. It was so heavy. We were getting constipated too. In Japan, my friend and I went to a sushi bar and had this weird gooey green thing…it was nasty. But the sweets there were amazing, so was the fresh sashimi. Yum yum yum. Hopefully, I’ll be able to get internet access in China because I would love to blog about my experience. :0 happy night everyone.