Perhaps it’s that my current home is high on the side of a hill in the Andes… but I’m struck with the idea that it’s important to look up.
In a previous post, I expounded on the long, long climb up to this lovely place where I’m staying in Pisac. Last evening I had the joy of sitting around in the community living room which is also our restaurant with fellow travelers. At my table, there were 4 of us- 3 women, 1 man. Two were over 60, two likely in their 20’s. One originally from UK, one from Ukraine, one from Brazil and me. We had a great time swapping stories and sharing tips on solo travel. A common theme through our time spent together was how important it is to be open to something new.
I haven’t traveled internationally in 4 years? I have been busy, living a full life but there grows an anxiety in me. I couldn’t quite put my finger on what was going on. Maybe it’s a symptom of getting older? I just knew it was time for a change. I closed my office and moved my healing practice back home. I quit doing classes and sound events as I wasn’t feeling inspired to keep doing things the way I always have. Oh, and some new gongs showed up.
Funny how life works. I had sort of set a stage for change to happen. I had looked all around me, looked at my options and rearranged my work and my home. Yet, I still didn’t really begin creating something new. That is, until I left the country.
To me, it seemed like the timing was off. In a small way, I felt a bit bothered that I had to up and leave now that the stage for something new was all set. Ah, yes… isn’t it funny how we can’t see sometimes because we’re looking in the wrong place.
My new friends shared stories about how they turned their lives upside down. It is a common theme among travelers it seems… and perhaps also to spiritual journeyers. A young woman from the Ukraine left to explore the world, then war broke out and she can’t go home. She’s doing well, following the path before her. A man who left his home country and a marriage to move to the US to build a new life of work and travel. So many new perspectives found as he wanders the world. Another young woman whose family in Brazil doesn’t quite understand when she will ever settle down. She asks, “why do I have to?”
So it’s this sort of energy i’m immersed in as I’m perched high on this gorgeous hill. And while up so high, I’m looking even higher… what’s up there? How does the world look from the next peak. Not that travel is the solution, but being open to something new, something unknown, something entirely different.
I am grateful for the timing. I’ve gotten to step out of routine and all I’m “comfortable” with to wander a bit. I know I see in friends and clients at home that so often we all build a home, a sort of nest and then say, “There, I’ve done it. I’m set.” Or perhaps even, “now I am safe.” Yet as beings who grow in knowledge and experience, do we always remember to look up over the edge of that nest. Do we leave the “safety” of home to explore the beauty beyond our four walls.
My message today is to remember to pause, to breathe and to look up. You don’t have to change everything in your life, but don’t be afraid to explore, to consider what can be added to your life, examine what might need to change. The pause, breathe and allow a few new dreams to arise
Sending light and love to us all
suni