E077 Joe Ashley Travel and Wellness Generally
Let’s Be Well Together Podcast - Episode 77
Date: July 18, 2023
Participants: John Webster, Elise Seifert, Cameron Earnshaw and Sheila Webster
Guest: Joe Ashley
Start times and Segments:
[0:00:35] What’s On Your Mind: Elise has been journaling. We chat about her experience and an article summarizing benefits of journaling: Five Benefits of Journaling for Mental Health, by Jeremy Sutton positivepsychology.com – link: here
[0:10:48] Expanding Minds Interview: [Many areas of wellness] We interview Joe Ashley about travel and wellness. At 21-years-old, Joe left for an extended trip abroad. Travel helped him grow as a person. He faced situations that were outside his comfort zone. As he began to live them and pick up tricks and hacks along the way, it reshaped his comfort zone. He gained a feeling of freedom. He had open conversations with other travellers, each with slightly different angles and a very different experience. He adapted his thinking to different ideas and different ways of approaching situations. He learned different perspectives and approaches to universal challenges. He recognizes a connection between travel and wellness.
[0:24:20] Adventures of the Starving Artist: Cameron is self-taught on the bass. He had an a-ha moment while having fun with a bass and playing fun songs.
[0:28:10] Move That Body: Sheila plugged “move that body” into an internet search. It was amusing.
[0:31:42] Running Popup: The bike commute puts John in a good frame of mind to start and end his work day.
[0:33:49] Flipside of the Coin: In the old days, everything was closed on Sundays and there were no cell phones. It was an actual day off. In those days we thought it was terrible. Now we kinda miss it.
Quotes and Take-Aways:
Elise – Journaling helps me to reduce anxiety and break away from obsessive thinking. When I get it out on paper it lets me get over it. I also think it helps me regulate my emotions.
Joe – Examples of connections between travel and wellness are meeting lots of different people along the way and having very open conversations with different people from different cultures, who have different ideas and ideologies.
Joe – I’m someone who’s really interested in people. I’m really interested in learning about different cultures and different ways of living, food, music and more. It was really important to me to have that sense of freedom and to keep going.
Joe – I see every new place as a new challenge and a different reframing of the mind in a way. When I’m faced a challenge while traveling, I can bring something from myself to the challenge and it’s something I can learn from. For me the sense of freedom is to have many opportunities.
Joe –Situations seem very scary. They’re outside of one’s comfort zone, but as you start to live them and as you pick up tricks and hacks along the way, it reshapes your comfort zone. You start to feel comfortable in that chaos.
Joe – You find yourself in a hostel and you’re sitting around a table with five people from five different countries. You’re all meeting in the same place on the same topic, but every person has a slightly different angle and a very different experience. It really helps me to evaluate what I think and to adapt my thinking to different ideas and different ways of approaching situations.
Joe – I always kept a diary while traveling, not only of experiences but things I learned along the way. I dedicated a few pages to life lessons or small lessons I learned. It’s a very good thing to look back on when you’re facing a problem. I may not agree with them all, but they all build up a story or image of different ways or angles to look at different issues.
Joe –There are many luxuries in England that you don’t have in other countries. Travel has made me appreciative of my own background and upbringing, and the opportunities I had growing up in a country like this.
John – It’s something I appreciate about travel. Not only do you get to enjoy the amazing things in other countries that you visit, but you’re able to better appreciate where you grew up and where you live once you get back.
Bulletin Board Quote brought to you by Joe: Comfortable in the chaos.
Guest Information: Joe Ashley is a 28-year-old from rural Shropshire, England who recently returned to U.K. for a short spell after 6 years abroad, to reconnect with those close to him. Over the years he worked many jobs in a diverse array of areas and lived in various places. He’s currently teaching English as a foreign language in a school in Bournemouth, England. He’s been on a wellness journey for some years now, focusing on mindfulness and meditation but taking the time to learn about many methods/cultures and practices. He has a strong love of the outdoors and nature and try to spend as much time within nature as possible. Joe’s very interested in sustainability and environmentalism, trying to reduce his impact on the planet as much as possible.
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Thanks for joining us,
(-(-_(-_-)_-)-) Your wellness check-in team
John, Sammy, Cameron, Sheila, Elise, Isabelle and Julie