Meet elaine lee

We recently connected with Elaine Lee and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Elaine, you’ve got such an interesting story, but before we jump into that, let’s first talk about a topic near and dear to us – generosity. We think success, happiness and wellbeing depends on authentic generosity and empathy and so we’d love to hear about how you become such a generous person – where do you think your generosity comes from?
Generosity is the language of mother earth. If you take time to learn the language the world opens up to you. As a globetrotter who has made two solo trips around the world and visited 69 countries, I am a swift witness to the generosity of the vast majority of earthlings. Being from the USA with its guiding principles of militarism and consumerism it tis so liberating and comforting to discover that most people on planet earth appear to be guided by generosity especially to travelers. When I am on the road, I am judged by my open heart, my generosity and my genuine desire to connect, explore and share. Its a marvelous dance of giving and receiving that lights my path around mother earth.

Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?

Elaine Lee, Esq., is a globetrotter and emancipatory travel journalist.
Her travel articles and advice have appeared in numerous national and local magazines, newspapers, and webzines, such as The New York Times, O, Essence, Black Enterprise, Wall Street Journal She has also contributed stories to eight anthologies.
Elaine has been featured on many local and national radio and TV shows. She has served as a keynote speaker, lecturer, and travel writing instructor at many national travel conferences. She coordinates an extensive international network of black travel writers for whom she has provided a free quarterly Afrocentric travel media newsletter since 2001. Her website, www.ugogurl.com, is one of the leading portals of black travel information and resources.

Her company, Ugogurl Productions, is pleased to announce the release of Go Girl 2: The Black Woman’s Book of Travel and Adventure. (The expanded, revised, and updated edition), edited by her. Publication Date: April 6, 2024.
Go Girl 2 is an anthology that weaves a remarkable collection of fifty-four travel tales, poems, and photos designed to inspire, educate, and entertain black women globetrotters, as well as provide vicarious thrills for the avid armchair traveler. Dive into stories by a new generation of travel writers, including luminaries Lola Akinmade Åkerström, Lebawit Lily Girma, Georgina Lawton, Martinque Lewis, Rue Mapp, and Noo Saro-Wiwa, on spicy adventures in the frozen Arctic to sun-drenched blue Caribbean, to the discovery of cultural treasures in Africa, Australia, the Americas, and Asia, Compelling stories by Maya Angelou, Alice Walker, Jill Nelson, Linda Villarosa, Faith Adiele, and Evelyn White, along with other crowd favorites, have been republished from the original Go Girl. The book also includes a handy resource section and planning guide.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
“When you come to the edge of all that you know, you must believe one of two things: either there will be ground to stand on, or you will be given wings to fly.” O.R. Melling Author I think one of the ingredients to my “success” is the ability and courage to wrestle with the fear of the unknown. I experience fear, like most folks, but I do not allow it to immobilize me. Additionally, I have learned, from the help and modeling by my mother, to navigate life on “fumes” if necessary. When the gauge reads “E” for empty, I have figured out how to keep going and get by on the mere fumes.

Any advice for folks feeling overwhelmed?

I have created a wellness lifestyle that continues to pay off!
Daily:
Exercise (for me – i swim or do yoga or volunteer at animal shelter or hike or bike or dance)
Journal: Especially your successes.
Meditate (for me – i meditate 10 minutes in morning and before i go to bed)
Pray at my ancestral altar
Drink chinese herbal tea
often listen to calm app before sleep
Weekly:
Dance (I am a salsa dancer)
yoga
shelter work (I volunteer at 2 animal shelter)

2x a month:
get a massage
monthly:
acupuncture visit
chiropractic visit
see a therapist (free through kaiser) or attend support group

Eliminate all “energy” drainers, both people and things.

Contact Info:

Image Credits
picture taken by martinque lewis flyer designed by Desiree Dorsainvil

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