Don't be afraid to move your cheese outside
I'm writing this on flight BA994 departing London enroute to Berlin at above 27,000 feet up. As the varying green shades of southeast England fall away over my left shoulder, B is asleep next to me, I have two smallish carryon bags, and most of everything else that I own is in storage unit back in London. I'm basically unemployed and homeless, with two passports and four different currencies stuffed in various wallets in my backpack. The steps it has taken to get me here have been nothing short of sheer determination to break free of Bermuda's intertia and design a life that aligns with my ideals, goals, wishes and dreams.
What lead to all this? The constant nagging in the back of my mind that, if I really wanted to satisfy my curiosities about the world, expand my horizons and grow as a dancer, it was absolutely necessary to leave the 21-square-mile Rock that is home. I've been travelling since before I could walk, so it makes sense that I'm constantly lusting over faraway places. That aside, there is a Salsa congress in Berlin that I have been wanting to attend for as long as I've been dancing - all eleven years - and being in Bermuda makes travel to these events extremely expensive, both in time and money. The difficulty of finding work that I'm passionate about in BDA is unfortunate, because I'm positive my best professional years are still ahead of me, and I have tons to contribute to the performing arts scene wherever I may be. On top of that, I'm a Salsa dancer that is hell-bent on improvement and loves to be onstage. Needless to say, the only way to effectively follow my passions is to pack up and head to London, where I can dance, travel, eat, fly or do whatever random activity I like.
Today's flight is one of many that will take us over Europe and Southeast Asia over a period of 10 weeks where we will work, play and explore the region. Just over a year ago I decided I would take a volunteer trip to teach English, because again, it was something I was dreaming about for years...more details on that to come!
This week has been a period of goodbye parties, dinners, nights out, and hundreds of well-wishes from friends and relatives all over the world. Most are really not surprised at my venture, as they already know about my travel bug. A small handful, however, are more concerned with whether we'll ever return to Bermuda, or whether we'll have jobs when we return to London, or even who will teach classes in my absence. They envy my child-free/mortgage-free state, as if it's the only reason I'm able to do what I'm doing. They rattle off a long list of reasons (excuses?) why they could never do what I'm doing. Agreed, there's a heap of logistics involved in quitting your job and leaving your country - for me, it didn't take very long to come to the decision, but it certainly did take some work to get where I am right now, sitting in a metal tube hurtling above Germany at 418 mph, with no plans to resettle back home anytime soon. Two days away from home, and I'm already so grateful to myself for finally following through with the plan.
In discussing my plans with others these recent weeks, I often sensed this thin veil of dreamy desire - not envy - around them...a veil of suppressed passion that can only be thrown back by fearless gusto.
Yes, financial/social/family responsibilities must be considered before you decide to take that six-month trek up Kilimanjairo (and not the one in Warwick), and dream-chasing halfway around the world is less complicated for some. BUT - if there is a burning desire inside of you to do, see, or experience something or go someplace, a desire that burns constantly in your mind's eye day after day, month after month, year after year, a desire that could possibly lead to life-changing experiences and the opportunity to chase your dreams, you absolutely owe it to yourself to explore them. Nothing worth having or doing is easy; dream-chasing is not easy; ignoring the naysayers is not easy; and having no fear of the unknown is certainly not easy. Many people just don't chase their dreams simply because they just don't know if they will be successful, or if they can even afford to. But can your afford not to? You certainly won't know what success you will have if you don't try, and your definition of success may even change completely once your journey has begun. So, in a nutshell, just do it. You we born for a purpose, and if that purpose takes you to the farthest corners of the Earth, then so be it. Fear is a metal self-imposed limitation designed to protect the ego. It's a powerful, invisible force that literally keeps us in the rat race, living the mundane, because we're afraid what will happen if we step off that hamster wheel and onto a path that aligns us with our passions. Check out Eckhart Tolle's The Power of Now and A New Earth for some really interesting insights on the ego and fear.
So, don't be afraid to move your cheese outside, when everyone else keeps theirs in the fridge. You owe it to yourself to at least try, so go and find something that makes you come alive, then do that. Because what the world needs is more people who have come alive.
For Laura, who, during random conversation, inspired me to draw this analogy.
Auf Wiedersehen!
What lead to all this? The constant nagging in the back of my mind that, if I really wanted to satisfy my curiosities about the world, expand my horizons and grow as a dancer, it was absolutely necessary to leave the 21-square-mile Rock that is home. I've been travelling since before I could walk, so it makes sense that I'm constantly lusting over faraway places. That aside, there is a Salsa congress in Berlin that I have been wanting to attend for as long as I've been dancing - all eleven years - and being in Bermuda makes travel to these events extremely expensive, both in time and money. The difficulty of finding work that I'm passionate about in BDA is unfortunate, because I'm positive my best professional years are still ahead of me, and I have tons to contribute to the performing arts scene wherever I may be. On top of that, I'm a Salsa dancer that is hell-bent on improvement and loves to be onstage. Needless to say, the only way to effectively follow my passions is to pack up and head to London, where I can dance, travel, eat, fly or do whatever random activity I like.
Today's flight is one of many that will take us over Europe and Southeast Asia over a period of 10 weeks where we will work, play and explore the region. Just over a year ago I decided I would take a volunteer trip to teach English, because again, it was something I was dreaming about for years...more details on that to come!
This week has been a period of goodbye parties, dinners, nights out, and hundreds of well-wishes from friends and relatives all over the world. Most are really not surprised at my venture, as they already know about my travel bug. A small handful, however, are more concerned with whether we'll ever return to Bermuda, or whether we'll have jobs when we return to London, or even who will teach classes in my absence. They envy my child-free/mortgage-free state, as if it's the only reason I'm able to do what I'm doing. They rattle off a long list of reasons (excuses?) why they could never do what I'm doing. Agreed, there's a heap of logistics involved in quitting your job and leaving your country - for me, it didn't take very long to come to the decision, but it certainly did take some work to get where I am right now, sitting in a metal tube hurtling above Germany at 418 mph, with no plans to resettle back home anytime soon. Two days away from home, and I'm already so grateful to myself for finally following through with the plan.
In discussing my plans with others these recent weeks, I often sensed this thin veil of dreamy desire - not envy - around them...a veil of suppressed passion that can only be thrown back by fearless gusto.
Yes, financial/social/family responsibilities must be considered before you decide to take that six-month trek up Kilimanjairo (and not the one in Warwick), and dream-chasing halfway around the world is less complicated for some. BUT - if there is a burning desire inside of you to do, see, or experience something or go someplace, a desire that burns constantly in your mind's eye day after day, month after month, year after year, a desire that could possibly lead to life-changing experiences and the opportunity to chase your dreams, you absolutely owe it to yourself to explore them. Nothing worth having or doing is easy; dream-chasing is not easy; ignoring the naysayers is not easy; and having no fear of the unknown is certainly not easy. Many people just don't chase their dreams simply because they just don't know if they will be successful, or if they can even afford to. But can your afford not to? You certainly won't know what success you will have if you don't try, and your definition of success may even change completely once your journey has begun. So, in a nutshell, just do it. You we born for a purpose, and if that purpose takes you to the farthest corners of the Earth, then so be it. Fear is a metal self-imposed limitation designed to protect the ego. It's a powerful, invisible force that literally keeps us in the rat race, living the mundane, because we're afraid what will happen if we step off that hamster wheel and onto a path that aligns us with our passions. Check out Eckhart Tolle's The Power of Now and A New Earth for some really interesting insights on the ego and fear.
So, don't be afraid to move your cheese outside, when everyone else keeps theirs in the fridge. You owe it to yourself to at least try, so go and find something that makes you come alive, then do that. Because what the world needs is more people who have come alive.
For Laura, who, during random conversation, inspired me to draw this analogy.
Auf Wiedersehen!
Glad you have 'itchy foot' & are following your bliss!
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