The Sprouted Seed.




I often sing the song of how travel has the power to really transform lives and how it can free us in ways we never knew possible. I can sing this song because I have lived the song. I have experienced first hand how travel has opened up my eyes, mind, heart and soul to a new way of seeing and appreciating the world I live in. I preach the truth I know for myself and know that if it can happen to me, it can happen to anyone, they just have to believe it.

There are those folks out there who imagine this to be true but for whatever reason, be it fear, finances, you name it, the step to seeing and believing for themselves doesn't get taken.  There are also those folks who have taken the leap of faith into traveling, despite a great deal of fear and have come back a newer, more invigorated version of themselves.

Last night I ran into an old friend who had just come back from the Dominican Republic; her skin was sun kissed and there was a definite sparkle in her eyes. I know the look well; it's the look of being in love ~ with life and with it's infinite possibilities. 

 We had talked travel for years and she had mentioned to me how she had several fears about traveling ~ how she'd ever afford it, how her food allergies would be a hinderance in her experience and overall fear of taking the leap, although she always wanted to travel and see the world.

The opportunity to travel came to her via a business trip for her partner so she jumped at the chance to expand her wings. I'd asked her what her fears were prior to leaving and this is what she said, 

"I realized that my trip and the success of it has a lot to do with what I have been practicing with my mindset and the tools that I now have. I hadn't realized it until you just asked me to share with you what my fears were that it was a lot about how I prepared my mind. When I found out we were going to the DR I got so excited and almost within the same beat I got nervous about traveling with food allergies. But since I have been practicing noticing how I feel and taking time to relax into a better feeling place,


I was able to, in that moment shift back into excitement and trust that I would be able to get the food part worked out. The other part was, How was I going to mange the feelings of excitement and nervous energy for 2 1/2 months?!? It was then that I decided to set an intention of how I wanted to feel which was to have fun and enjoy the journey.


So this is exactly what happened for the next few months before we went, I also ended up attracting more money into my life that allowed me to really play and get some new things for my trip. It was a lot of fun! So mixed into this time, I kept having the feelings of excitement and nervousness but when I noticed the feelings I just reminded myself of how I wanted to feel and asked the universe to bring me new insights and ideas that would help me get back to the moment...So I would say that a combination of noticing how I was feeling, setting an intention of how I wanted to feel instead and then taking time to practice getting in a better feeling place when I noticed being nervous allowed me to be in the receptive place for new insights to come in to help alleviate most of my concerns enough to allow me to go and then as I was there if I got nervous I practiced the same thing and then I was able to see more clearly."


Most of what keeps us confined is the fear of the unknown and our mindset ~ what we believe to be true becomes our truth. Change your mindset, change your life.

Two of the biggest issues my friend had was really finances and her food allergy's that could be physically debilitating if not attended to properly. Prior to her trip, she researched how people dealt with their food allergies while traveling and learned to carry a card with her allergies listed on it and then in turn presented the card to the restaurants when she dined. She said it worked out great and never once got sick while traveling. It was in researching, planning, that she realized she could navigate what she once thought was a barrier to her travels. She can check that fear off of her list of barriers to travel.

The awakening, or as I like to call it, "The sprouted seed."


I mentioned earlier how my friend had a sparkle in her eyes when she spoke of her travels. As she spoke about the turquoise waters, dancing bachata on the beach, learning Spanish and connecting with strangers, and how simply wonderful everything had been, the speed of her words being spoken increased and a smile embraced her whole being. I could feel it. I could see the transformation unfolding in her simply as she recanted her experience ~ the seed had sprouted within her, she was growing and becoming all over again.

We often lie dormant within ourselves, again sometimes for fear or lack of setting appropriate intentions for ourselves, but truth be told, it happens to all of us. I'll continue to speak to the value and meaning of travel as a way germinate new life into our beings and every day happenings. It is in the doing that we begin to feel alive and present in our life. It is in the words that we tell ourselves daily and the intentions that we set for our goals that dictate whether or not we'll fulfill our life's wish list.



Thank you . . .

As we wound up our conversation last night about her travels, she said to me,

"I thought about you a lot on this trip and I get it now." I responded with saying that in order to really "get it", you simply have to experience it and then you will know the truth of my words.

So, thank you dear friend for being so brave to try new things. Thank you for exposing your being to travel and to experiencing new horizons. Thank you for letting your light shine to those who needed it and for you who desperately needed to share your light with others.

In her words,

"I'm thankful for you planting the wanderlust seed years ago, it's an amazing feeling to travel to another country. I am finally starting to feel like me again!"

To travel is to live, to really come alive into ourselves, to be present in the moment of life. 


Viva la Vida. 





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