Here I am, transitioning from an invigorating Buddhist retreat and back into my soulful coffee shop moments. This experience carried a lot of new insight, especially after an incredible walk with Master Dao Yi. Walking beside him, I felt like I was floating in the sky.

After our stroll, the big word I walked away with was “radiance.” The grace that flowed out of his being and into all life. I’m eternally grateful for the profound message he seems so naturally embody and radiate.

Returning after some time, my plan is to find more of what makes me radiate and glow—to continue documenting my daily moments on my Equilibrium Journal, and to track my fulfillment, radiance, joy, connection to purpose, and energy in everything I do. My wish is that I can invite more of the things that I find the most beautiful into my life.

Some of my favorite moments of the retreat (in no particular order)

• My walk with Master Dao Yi that felt like a combination of coming up for air and floating in the sky

• Dancing with my sister under the moonlight and lanterns, and the feeling of “as long as she is happy, nothing else matters in this world”

• Seeing the natural energy, joy, and freedom of children as a reminder to embrace the abundance and purity around me

• Closing my eyes and dancing by myself in a crowd full of people—because expression and movement are some of life’s greatest luxuries

• The car ride back with D and Alex with the windows down, dancing and laughing and singing (or some variation of screaming) and feeling deeply blessed

• Seeing my parents after the retreat and wrapping them in my arms, a soul-stirring reminder that they have given me absolutely everything I needed to be the best version of me

• Reflecting on the retreat with D and witnessing the powerful growth and new energy within her