I have just spent a month travelling in the States, visiting family and friends but also setting out on an amazing road trip into the national parks of California, Utah and Arizona.

There is something about a road trip that can feel profoundly transformative. I think it has to do with the physical journey, where your sense of time changes, as the landscape transforms around you while you're simultaneously being held within it.

Experiencing the majesty of nature, and time spent with loved ones and friends who energise me was the perfect recipe for re-charging my batteries. In fact, I actually can't think of anything greater!

My two big highlights of the trip, also happened to be the two things that simultaneously terrified me the most. This is kind of a strange concept for me, as I have never been one to watch a scary movie for fun.. I have always been overly-thoughtful and cautious by nature, and a total scaredy pants at times! But perhaps that is why acting in the face of those fears can be so thrilling. I think there is a lesson in that.

The first moment came after we had hiked 14 miles into a section of the Grand Canyon, to an Indian village called Supai. This was an epic hike accompanied by such humbling feelings of utter isolation; like being on the moon, though technically right in the heartland of America. Next to the village were the most magnificent series of waterfalls: Havasu Falls. The crystal blue water, red rocks and lush greenery, were pretty close to what I imagine paradise to be like. After a morning of mooching in the fresh and dreamy pools with my beautiful friend Hannah, we made friends with a group of travellers just as we were leaving who invited us with them to their favourite spot called Hidden Falls. It turns out that this was also the perfect spot to jump off the high rocky cliffs into the water. I was the last one to make the jump and it took so much courage throw myself into the air, (and I most definitely winded myself on the way down)- but gosh it was fun!

The second thrill was climbing Angels Landing in Zion Natinoal Park, Utah. A track that involves scrambling up the spine of a ridge with 1000m drop offs on either side. The park is very very heavy-handed with their warnings against hikers with the slightest fear of heights or balance issues, as "falling will likely result in death." There are no safety rails, just a chain to hold on to at the narrow parts. Again, this was a mental challenge more than anything for me and was so liberating to conquer.

The day after our enormous waterfall hike, Hannah and I were physically and mentally shattered. We spent the day recovering in a rather alternative town called Flagstaff, and came across a man who gave us a sound bath each using a mono-chord instrument/ bed, where you lay on the box that captures and magnifies the reverberations as he sits by your side playing the strings and singing. It was one of the most blissful meditations I have ever experienced. I asked if there have been any studies into how the vibrations effect the body and his response was yes, and there are many opinions but that he's not interested in the limitations that labelling them would bring. As it can elicit such powerful and varied responses for many people, and they are all are equally valid.. and I kinda like this. Letting it be magic, rather than having to define it.

Also in Flagstaff we found a crystal shop where I felt it was the appropriate moment on our journey to buy a book titled "How to Find Yourself". It was all about how as humans we naturally create narratives for ourselves, and that being conscious of this can help prevent becoming trapped in a storyline that is no longer serving you.

I loved taking this time to reflect on my own story while observing stories present in the landscape, as well as literally listening to myriad audiobooks and podcasts in the car.

It felt very appropriate that we listened to S-Town, the latest podcast from the makers of Serial. It's a beautifully unfolding story of a complex man from Alabama, who doesn't necessarily feel he fits his surroundings, but had created a strangely magical world around himself, in his tragic longing for human connection.

It made me value finding the right collaborators in life and art. How important it is to surround yourself with people who energise you. I had such a wonderful time with my friend Hannah, she gives me endless energy.

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ROADTRIP REFLECTIONS