A Single Experience Can Guide You: A Reflection

Like many of you, I have been in deep reflection during this time. Along with reflecting in solitude I also have been looking over old photos! I came across this picture of me visiting Machu Picchu with my family back in 2016.  The pictures from this trip stood out to me because they remind me of a time in my life when I chose to live boldly in a way that pushed me further into my destiny. A few weeks ago, I wrote about the importance of being bold (read about it here). 

This trip was inspired by my daughter, who went on a student exchange trip to Lima, Peru during her sophomore year in High School (read about her experience here). After her time with the host family, the rest of us flew into Lima to meet up with her and have a family adventure for a week. Back then I was still teaching and it was so difficult to take an entire week off in the middle of the school year, but in my spirit I knew I could not pass up this opportunity. So, despite the challenges, I decided to book the trip and planned to have an amazing time in Peru with my family! 

I’m no stranger to making hard decisions, so I know that until you become at peace with them, they always have such an unsettling feeling attached to them. Of course, I pondered if I had done the right thing until I shifted my mindset to remembering how invaluable experiences and time with loved ones are to me. 

This trip was the jumpstart to living more purposefully as a traveler and an individual who started chasing ALL my dreams. I absolutely gained more peace when I realized that I have to honor the yearnings and desires of my heart despite how difficult the choice might be. 

Climbing up Machu Picchu on our family trip to Peru was when I gained the confidence to devise a plan for living the type of life I had started to see in my dreams.  

While I had traveled before on vacation, this trip was scheduled to be an adventure! When I stood on Machu Picchu high above sea level, my spirit felt so comfortable and I was left daydreaming about my next adventure along with being in complete awe that I was standing atop one of the world wonders. Little did I know that I was allowing the experience to guide me.

By December of that year, I had resigned from my career as a classroom teacher, decided on a masters program, and joined a travel group. The following year ( 2017) I headed to Dubai with Pink Girls Run The World without hesitation (read about that trip here). 

It’s likely that at some point within this lockdown period, you have done something or many things that you didn’t think you could have done before now. 

I know parents who have never worked a full time job while helping their children learn, but they are doing it...I know individuals who never saw themselves and what they do as essential, but now they do...I have witnessed students of various ages learn from an online platform after saying that they need to be in a classroom to learn..I see families adapting to a level of being clean that they never knew they could achieve! At this point, our strengths and weaknesses are on full display for us to use and work on respectfully. 

The changes I made in my life as a result of that awakening back in 2016 standing on Machu Picchu has helped me to live through this moment in time with ease. It doesn’t change the feelings of sadness that surround the global suffering, but it has allowed me to remain focused on what is important to me. I look forward to when I reflect on this time after it’s passed to see how I changed and grew because of it. 

Each day of this lockdown we are reminded how fragile life is, so you should begin living life or take purposeful steps to living the life you have always wanted. Perhaps you are already doing this. I encourage you to share your testimony with others. Everytime we speak our truths, we set dreams free!

Could life during the Pandemic be the catalyst for your jumpstart and dive into the MORE that you already know is out there? 

What is in you that is waiting to come out because you are now able to experience yourself as you could never imagine?