Solo traveling has helped me to channel my inner courage.

I got off the train, late and a bit overwhelmed and slightly hungry in the Nothern Italian town of Bolzano, I knew that while the first leg of this journey was done that the worst was yet to come. I was determined to get through the nightmare of the next couple of modes of transport, but the cable car up the mountain, followed by the small train to my mountain hotel, was a looming nightmare.

I survived it, hence this typing here, and it signalled a new beginning in my exploration of solo travel.

Recovering from Long Covid, and processing the kind of grief that still knocks me to my knees at times, has meant thatgrappling with fatigue and anxiety has brought new elements to all my relationships. Solo travel, while risky in terms of relapse and finding support if I crash, was the perfect conduit to 'do it anyway' and get moving.

There is a kind of peace in going with one's own flow, no shame in holding anyone up, no deep breath before having to call and cancel plans, just allowing whatever is, to be, and finding new energy pockets within the calm mind to move forward.

EnerQi Magazine is born of a deep gratitude to all the therapies that have helped bring me to a new life... and as it begins, many people who have given me the kind of helping hand that feels like heaven on earth grace the pages.