Byte: Catarina Lillehook ~ Miracles In The Mountains!

Catarina talks about her trip to Mongolia, and how in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by wilderness, she had an encounter that surprised and delighted her. She tells how of even in the remotest of places, life can remind you that joy and happiness are everywhere!

Transcript

Greetings, Everybody, And welcome back to your Midweek Miracle episode. I have great gratitude to the dear friend who introduced me to this episode's guest, Katerina Lilihook. And the guest's name is Katerina, Not the person who introduced me to Katerina. But, Um, Yeah, Sometimes people say, Hey, Wink, Wink, Nudge, Nudge, I have someone for the show. And you know what? I get to meet another splendid human being out there who's making the world a more beautiful place. But who cares about that? Who cares? I am here to introduce you to Katerina. Um, Besides for being fluent in Mandarin, Okay, She was born and raised in Sweden and is a former freelance journalist. She's also the author of two books on China. She currently lives in Switzerland and, Um, She's so poetic. She describes Switzerland as the perfect gateway to other worlds, A place where rivers have no names and dragons rule the sky. So, You know, Come on. With my love for fantasy and sci-fi literature, I thought we are a match made in heaven. And guess what? We were and we are. She's become such a stalwart, Just supporter of the podcast and pretty much everything I'm doing. And we need that in the world. We need more of that. People who just go out and champion other people because, You know what? It comes back around. So anyway, Without further ado, I can't wait for you to meet her and hear some of her travel stories. So here you go. My interview with Katerina Lillihook. And our guide and the horseman are like, Okay, Let's go meet this guy. And it turns out it's a young Japanese guy. He's out there alone on a horse with a pack horse by his side. And I mean, This is complete wilderness. So we're like, Wait, What? What are you doing here? We're at least there with a guide, You know, People who can help us if we get lost or something happens. And you know what he said? He said, I'm searching for happiness. I'd love for you to tell a story about traveling that maybe was a little adventurous and fun and interesting. Yeah, I've been trying to take my pick because I was thinking of that might come up and I have made so many incredible journeys, But still it was easy for me to pick Mongolia. Me and my husband went horseback riding in the Mongolian wilderness. This is a while ago now, But we went on this trip and we had a guide and like some horsemen and a cook and us, Just us. And we were camping out in the Mongolian wilderness for like seven or eight or 10 days or something like that. And the landscape there, It was so, I mean, Like I said, I've been to so many places, But here it was something palpable in the air, Something so fresh, So raw, So brutal. I had this instantaneous feeling that it was something like some energy there since the beginning of times, Just like ancient, Like pure. And I've been trying to put my finger on it since, Like I said, I've been meeting with all these off the road people in so many countries. Here, I think maybe there was this Northern feeling, Like the cold, You know, It was cold and crisp and clear. But the funny thing was, What was really made this trip so special was that at first I just felt that I couldn't tell more than like, Wow, I'm so sucked into these rivers and these forests and these horses like that. And then it was weird because you meet no one out there. It's complete wilderness. I think the whole trip we met maybe twice other Mongolian riders and they were there. At least they wore the traditional clothing, Which is like from a fantasy world with a cap for the thing and a long frock and a silk sash. And they were riding horses and they were rounding up horses. But that was it, Like maybe twice and then nothing. So we're riding there and, You know, We're having this great time. And one day we spot a rider and we're like, Who is that? Like not a Mongolian. And our guide and the horseman are like, Okay, Let's go meet this guy. And it turns out it's a young Japanese guy. He's out there alone on a horse with a pack horse by his side. And I mean, This is complete wilderness. So we're like, Wait, What? What are you doing here? We're at least there with a guide, You know, People who can help us if we get lost or something happens. And he was just the coolest person. And you know what he said? He said, I'm searching for happiness. And I'm like, Wow, How cool was that? And I was just trying to digest this. And he goes, Yeah, You know, I've been to so many places. I have traveled all over the world. I've worked, I've studied, But nowhere did I find happiness. So I decided to come here and look for happiness. And I thought, Wait, He must mean connection to spirit because there is nothing else out here. Nothing. Not even roads. And it made me think. And we hung out for a few hours and we chatted to him. And then, You know, He was on his own with this poor map. Our horse guys were trying to help him to guide to get to this lake somewhere. And he just waved goodbye, You know, Like I'm on my trip. I'm going to keep searching. And that just shifted everything for me because we had, You know, A lot of people of us spiritual people, We move a little bit in and out. We're super spiritual. And then you kind of like, Oh, You get full out of it. And I think moving to China, Because that was pretty rough. It was a big challenge and quite stressful. I fell a little bit out of it, Of the spirituality. But right then and there, He like shifted that back by that simple statement because it made me think. And I'm like, But that's what I wanted all along. Connect to spirit. And then I realized that's what I've been feeling because it's so pure in that ancient land. I'm like, It's spirit. It's here. It's embracing me. And he just made it click, You know. So after that, The rest of the trip, Which was already fantastic. But after that, I just started feeling and noticing a lot more. And, You know, There were forests we rode into that were not orange leaves, But pure yellow, Yellow. They were like golden kingdoms. And our guide, He was wearing this frock with a hat. He looked like something, I mean, From Lord of the Rings. So we go through these forests and I couldn't speak. It was just so massive. And another super cool, Like probably the coolest memory from that trip is we're climbing a mountain on our horses and we see two big birds of prey and they're circling on the top of the mountain. And we're going closer and I'm like hoping, Hoping, You know, That they'll stay as long as possible since I'm obsessed with wildlife. And we come closer and closer to the top and they don't move away. And I'm like, What? In the end, They're like maybe five or six meters up. Huge, Huge. We'd see like the patterns of their wings, The tips of their wings, Their beaks, Their heads, Everything. And we're right beneath them. And I just felt spirit so strongly. I had goosebumps all over. I couldn't speak. We're just sitting on our horses, Just looking up for the longest time. It was like the universe was like gifting us this, Like don't make them move away. Don't make them be afraid of you. Normally when you see a bird of prey, It creates like a dot in the sky. But when you come this close and you feel their presence, Yeah, That was massive. So yeah, That's definitely one of my absolutely coolest memories from my special trip. And that's it. That's a wrap on my conversation with Katarina. You know, I am 100% all for traveling between worlds, You know, Whether it's in your imagination or as Katarina has done, Between Hong Kong, Sweden, China, And all the other glorious places she's chosen to visit. I know that encounter with those that I'm unfamiliar with makes me a better person and helps me to understand the world. And you know, I'm always hustling for ratings and reviews. I love ratings and reviews. So if you listen to the podcast, Please do consider smashing the button to give me a rating or writing a little review. Thank you for listening. And here's my one request. Be like Katarina. Dream between the worlds. I mean, She doesn't limit herself. She knows that the outward statement on how different we all are, How we don't really go together, How some people just can't be understood is really a fiction. And so she immerses herself in worlds and places that she can only begin to understand. But then living there, It breeds intimacy. It breeds friendship. It breeds, You know, Maybe relationships with snakes that might get a little too close. But yeah, She's taken the chance on the world and now the world is taking a chance on her. So be brave and go out there and meet people that you don't know. Welcome the stranger. Embrace those who are different from you. I think we need a lot more tolerance in this world and a lot more understanding that this world would be ever so boring if everyone was the same. So embrace difference, Explore the world, And be brave, My dears, Because that great big world out there, It is just waiting for you to take that very first step.