We’ve had many parent-child duos here as interviewees and their perspectives – as a group and as individuals – is always fascinating. Toady is no exception. Read on.
Can you introduce yourselves?
Sure, we are Lainie & Miro of RaisingMiro.com. Lainie is the parent half and of course, Miro is the one being raised… and sometimes it’s the other way around.
Here’s the language we use on our site which sums up pretty well who we are and what we are doing. (I used to be a professional ‘brander’ so I’m still a sucker for consistent brand messages. After this bit though, I promise to stay away from all third person references for the rest of this interview.)
Miro and Lainie (mother 44 and 11 year old son) share their adventures from the Road of Life, discussing issues of humanity, global citizenship, worldschooling, slow travel & living in the moment as they explore the big beautiful planet, they call home.
Lainie and her son Miro began their open ended adventure in 2009, starting in Central & South America. They are slow traveling around the globe allowing inspiration be their compass. The pair is most interested in exploring cultures, contributing by serving & connecting with humanity as ‘global citizens’.
They invite you to travel along with them, share their experiences, on the Road of Life.
What’s it like to be ever-traveling, nomadic? I’m sure some days it must be freeing, and other days just tiring?
I think we transitioned easily into the full time role of ‘nomad’ from the role of the ‘excited traveler’. The excitement keeps us enthusiastic and realizing that the externals stresses of conventional life were no longer there, we eased into our new roles with grace. I’m not sure though exactly when that change took place, but I think it was close to the time when we first arrived in Guatemala, which was December of 2009.
The rhythm of being in the moment came naturally to us, and as soon as our lives, bodies and spirits were relieved of the idea of stress, we became satisfied and content. The concept was something I had intellectually studied, practiced, and yearned for, for years, but not actually experienced until our new life became a reality for us.
For me, it was a feeling of absolute freedom, a feeling I welcomed into my experience. The feeling of ‘liberation’ was always important to me, so much so, that 4 years ago, long before we knew we were going to do this trip, I legally changed my last name to ‘Liberti’.
You once said “There is no point, other than living in the moment and being present to all of the experiences and constantly finding the joy” How do you suggest people more live in the moment?
I can actually think of no other purpose in life. It’s easy to do. Slow down. Slow way down. Make peace with your thoughts. Respect them, honor them and don’t always believe them. Learn to be the watcher of your thoughts and learn to notice when you identify with your thoughts. Just be still and notice. Then see the world and all of it’s experiences as a gift. Perception is everything and that’s clearly the only thing we have control over.
I know many critics have often called me Polly-Anna-ish.
And I agree.
I don’t focus my attention anymore on violence, crime, atrocities and even politics. Coming from an background of activism, that was a huge change for me. And also now realizing that was a source of stress in my world, even though my intention was to serve, or do good.
Now I live in the moment and find exquisite joy in all that’s around me. Miro and I experience this together. As a shared experience, we have come to appreciate the little things with the amazement of a newborn and the awareness of a world traveler. Many of those experiences are set upon the backdrop of new cultures, new ways of looking at things and new experiences invited into our lives .
Over the past year and eight months of travel, my son and I have had the honor of experiencing an immediate impact through doing small things that effect humanity by simply being positive.
On a similar, yet slightly different note, you talk a lot about “slow travel.” What does that mean to you, and what are some examples of great experiences our readers could have if they chose the slow road?
We are traveling slowly which allows us to experience the communities we travel to, as a visiting resident. In other words, we submerge ourselves in the culture on a daily basis. We like to spend at least a few months in each country, and when inspired, we stay longer. We live with locals. We eat with locals. We interact with locals. And we try to give a little of ourselves in whichever way we can.
Sometimes it’s as simple as playing with the neighborhood children. Sometimes it’s feeding all of the stray dogs. Sometimes it’s through formal volunteer work. We always look at the communities we visit as gift and always have a smile to offer. Whatever the case, it is always the perfect experience. We know we could not have had the wonderful experiences we have had if we were only traveling as a tourist.
What’s been your most inspirational travel experience?
I think the most inspirational experience has been the kindness we’ve found in others and the deep deep compassion we’ve found in ourselves. We both experience gratitude on a daily basis for being blessed with our life circumstances and know the world is a safe place to be in.
Thanks so much for sparing your time to talk with us, Lainie & Miro! I love your advice about slowing down and I think it’s something that all travelers, whether a daytrip or weekend break or a full on massive trip, could follow. Folks to learn more, pay them a visit at RaisingMiro.com.
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