It has been a while since I've blogged so I'm going to start with what is going on in my life, in this moment. I have two months off to travel. I didn't plan for this trip, I barely thought about it, and to be honest I thought I would be holding hands with the love of my life at the Taj Mahal right now. Let me tell you relationships abroad do not exist, everything is impermanent. You learn how to live in the moment, the right now. You learn self love as sometimes it's all you have, if you’re lucky. So Im on this no- plan trip to Malaysia and Indonesia right now, solo traveling. I didn't plan on my summer being a solo trip and to be honest it freaked me out a few days leading up to the trip. Questioning things that could go wrong. Why was I so filled with nerves the night before leaving, my now very comfortable place in Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam? You would think I was an expert at this by now. I came out here alone, right. “This will be good for me, and there is no point to fearing something that hasn't happened yet,” I told myself.
Day one on the express train from the airport into Kuala Lumpur I met a girl from New York. We immediately hit it off. It just so happened that she was going on a dive trip the next day to Sipadan, Malaysia. One of the most famous dive sites in the world. Nestled in between Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippians. Do you want to know what I did? I bought a plane ticket the same day out of Kuala Lumpur to this isolated island three hours east, by flight, of where I was. An island so remote, its size, comparable to the emoji size island icon. WOW !! The diving was unreal. The turtles larger then me. I was basically scuba diving Finding Nemo. I spent two days there and did five dives. Each one getting easier and easier. From there, I decided that I don’t even want to focus on planning anything anymore. The truth is I always end up meeting people that are doing cooler things then me that I couldn't possibly plan and I end up wasting flight tickets. It also keeps me staying in the now. Not the future and not the past. Just the now. The now is amazing! I went for a surf lesson in Uluwata, Bali. A surfers paradise destination. The next thing I know, I am standing next to world famous surfers. Radiating so many high frequencies between myself and the surfers, the next thing I know I'm being invited back to their villa with an infinity pool overlooking the beach, to party with them all night! My life!!!
I read this book recently, called “You are a Badass,” By Jen Shapiro. This book automatically reached me and changed my life. She quotes “We live on a planet that orbits on an axis in the middle of a galaxy. Our most precious resource, water, falls from the sky. And we want more?” This quote subsided with me, made me realize how much I had to smile about, even on the toughest days. We have so many things to be grateful for. You can count ten things every night that you are grateful for. Sounds like a lot, right? But count gravity, as one, and its really that easy.
If you want to know why I am so happy and how I built this life for myself, I will tell you my secret. It's having nothing. Gadgets, clothes, cars, climbing the ladder at your corporate job, it locks you down. Once you let go the freedom you receive is the most liberating feeling. Knowing that I can take any opportunity that jumps out at me, that’s what makes me happy. Having nothing and being in the now. The second secret.. visualize it and take the steps necessary. You can literally have anything you want if you want it bad enough. I wanted to be out here. I drew Southeast Asia on my chalkboard, quit my job, sold everything I owned and worked my ass off to land myself a teaching career overseas. I wanted it, I took action, and I'm out here doing it.
So here I am. Typing this blog in Ubud, Bali Indonesia. On a porch looking out at valleys filled with temples, palm trees, and mountains in the distance. I am listening to the sounds of coy ponds and hymns from the Balinese in prayer. Everywhere I turn I see Hinduism carvings stitched into every roof, table, window, step and archway. This is my life, my present and my right now. Yesterday, I climbed a volcano 1,700 meters high at 2AM in the morning to get to see the sunrise above the volcanic peaks. Today, I spent the day with friends, I made in my homestay. We went trekking in layers of rice terraces, got blessed in baths filled with holy water coming out of spouts, went weasel coffee tasting, and ended the night in an outdoor yoga class. It is a fairytale that I visualized and made happen for myself. I am, just like you and here I am. You can get what you want, anything you want. But, you need to surrender and truly believe that the world has you. People do it everyday and you can be that person too. Do not fear the unknown, embrace the now and let things go. Make your moves to having that fun filled life that you have always dreamed of. This isn’t a holiday for me anymore, this is my lifestyle, my now.
NAMaste with me in Bali.
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