Finding Light in the Monsoon — Notes from My Sri Lankan Journey and finding FUN

There is something about landing back in Sri Lanka that rearranges the soul.

This time, I arrived with intention: part exploration, part healing, part visioning for what’s next. Future Unlocks Now (FUN) became my quiet mantra — letting each new experience open another door.

I began in Colombo, beneath the sweeping chandeliers of Durdans Hospital — an unexpected haven of efficiency and warmth. It’s not just a hospital; it’s an elegant reminder that modern medicine can feel human. A full screening in a morning, smiles behind masks, care that’s both precise and personal. Fuel Unique Narratives (FUN) — even the way health is told here is a story of dignity and innovation.

Between appointments, I wandered into quieter corners — stepping into Beruwala’s oldest temples, where centuries of devotion still hum beneath paint and palm leaves. At the turtle sanctuary, small, determined flippers reminded me that resilience often arrives softly and slowly.

I shared tables with strangers who became friends over street-side sambols and curries that redefine the word “spice.” And then slipped into the polished world of the Cinnamon Grand, where cuisine becomes theatre and hospitality an art form.

I climbed to the top of Asia’s tallest self-supported tower — the shimmering Lotus Tower — and watched the Indian Ocean fold and unfold against the city’s edges.

In Hikkaduwa, the monsoon’s fierce symphony shook the windows and thrilled me awake — rain like applause, waves like heartbeat. Along the Galle coast, cranes and glass hinted at the new Port City — a future unrolling against the sea.

But the most profound hours were at CTEC, listening to stories etched into the land since the 2004 tsunami. Lives uprooted, rebuilt, reimagined. There, I felt the call to ask: what can we do now to build stronger, more trauma-informed communities? How do we weave safety nets before the storm arrives? Here, Forging Uplifted Networks (FUN) becomes more than a phrase — it’s a responsibility.

Amid all of it, there was space to meditate and move with Lady Bruno (my ever-patient furry companion), to breathe deeply, to remember why presence matters.

What This Trip Taught Me

• Health can be elegant and accessible. Preventive care doesn’t have to feel cold or intimidating.

• Community holds invisible threads. Survivors of catastrophe carry wisdom about resilience we all need.

• Nature restores perspective. Birds, rain, and ocean recalibrate a restless nervous system faster than any screen.

• Hospitality is healing. Both grand hotels and roadside stalls reminded me that nourishment is love made edible.

Sri Lanka is teaching me to live more lightly, but also more awake — to savor, to listen, to build where there’s been loss, and to celebrate life’s strange, beautiful contradictions.

For me, it’s been a masterclass in letting FUN — Future Unlocks Now — guide each step. And perhaps, for anyone reading, an invitation to imagine where your own next chapter might open — sometimes in unexpected places, sometimes right where you are.

Signing out, and in flight🎶✨

Sasha Tanoushka| Neuroacoustics Coach| HypnoChic |