Just 18 days before I fly off, and it’s getting more and more nerve wracking.
I haven’t been updating here because I’ve been busy sorting out my travel plans, overseas contacts and visa arrangements. I’ve also been juggling a few jobs along the way to build up my travel fund as much as possible.
My tentative route has only come together because I was fortunate enough to meet some amazing people, all of whom have helped connect me with friends around the world, whether to stay with or work alongside, allowing me to map out and stretch my journey as much as possible.
It really helps to put your dreams out there.
By sharing my plans, I’ve managed to crowdsource many of the things I need. Although I still have a long way to go, I know that within all this uncertainty lies the excitement of living one day at a time.
Along the way, I’ve realised that so much of life is beyond our control. The harder we try to make sense of everything, the harder it often becomes to cope.
I’ve been learning to walk in faith and to understand that the only preparation I really need is the willingness to embrace whatever comes my way, and to be as ready as I can for the unexpected.
I know it’s easier said than done. We live in a world where seeing is believing. But it’s a challenge that I believe will shape the journey ahead. It will teach me to be more humble, more accepting, and more open minded towards everything around me.
It takes greater courage to fully accept things as they are than to bend and distort them to suit our own needs.
There is something beautiful about trusting life enough to let it take the reins, allowing it to guide you wherever you are meant to be.
To experience, as much as possible, the nakedness of reality without filtering it through our own ideals and goals, which are inevitably shaped by the society we grow up in.
Constructs that give us a sense of order, meaning and familiarity.
Not that they are wrong.
But, in my opinion, they are not always authentic.
If I had to sum up everything I’ve learnt so far into a single lesson, it would be this.
Learning to truly let go.
Not in the sense of giving up, but in learning to accept and embrace.
Ironically, it is through letting go that I’ve gained the most.
By opening myself to whatever comes, both the good and the bad, I’ve allowed myself to experience the raw beauty of life in all its wonder and awesomeness.
My journey of self discovery doesn’t begin when I board the plane 18 days from now.
It began the moment I made the conscious decision to be truly happy.
Jars of Thoughts 