For as long as I can remember I would think about being somewhere else. I would envision myself on a beach somewhere, totally calm and totally at peace. Or sitting on the porch of a cabin looking out over a beautiful valley, breathing in crisp mountain air.
One of my favorite places to drift off to is a small southern town with those 100 year old amazing weeping mossy trees everywhere. I sit on a huge wrap around porch, in a rocking chair and just smile knowing that life is what I’ve made it.
I’ve pictured myself in these places so many times that they are familiar to me, they are comfortable and sometimes I LONG for them.
Last night was one of those nights. I wanted to jump on a plane and head to San Diego. Stand on the beach and just BE. I couldn’t sleep because this need was so intense.
I used to think it would be enough to just travel to these places but honestly, sometimes I really wonder if just visiting would be enough for me. I want to BE there. I want to be a part of that atmosphere. I want to be one with those places.
This last year I traveled more in one year than I have in the rest of my life combined. It was a promise I made to myself at the beginning of 2016 and it’s a promise that I kept. I love visiting new places. I love how empowering it is to adventure on your own and know that you are 100% in control of your destiny.
It really hit me when I was standing on the beach in Hawaii. I had never seen anything like it. It was early morning and I decided to go venture out onto the beach. I discovered there was a way to get over to the rocks and stand right in front of the waves. Standing there watching the power of those waves, the beauty of that place I felt it. I had found it. I realized that thing inside of me that had been trying to speak for years. THIS is what I was looking for. THIS was the life that I was born to live. To be free from any walls or confinement. To truly live life on my terms, my way, and never apologize for any of it. I stood there alone but never in my life had I ever felt so full. That feeling is what it’s all about.
Last night when I was picturing myself on that beach, listening to those waves I realized, it doesn’t have to be just in those places that I fully allow myself to feel that way. I can feel that way anywhere I am. I just have to choose to. I have to ground myself in that feeling every single day and choose to be in that spot.
I also realized that I MUST allow my soul to go where it wants. If I get the itch to go somewhere and I crave that atmosphere than who am I to hinder my soul from getting what it craves so badly? Maybe that’s what stops people from regretting, like REALLY regretting. Maybe we all just need to listen to our soul’s desires to live a full life. Regardless of how impractical its desires may be.
I used to get worried about the who, what, when, where, and how when I would get these urges…which usually led to suppressing them and making excuses why I couldn’t make it happen. I made a promise to myself this morning to stop that now. And I welcome you to do the same. We we’re put on this earth to choke on our own dreams and never live to our fullest. We were all put here for a purpose. One that tries really hard to get out of us and even when we ignore it, it’s still there.
So please do yourself a favor and explore, expand, and researching within yourself until you find it. And when you find it… LISTEN.
