Tags
Allowing, Bridges, bucket list, cruising, dreams, flow, Gratitude, holidays, life, life lessons, Natural wonders of the world, Plans, travel, trust, Universe
How often do we just let life flow? Others may do this more than I as I am a self confessed planner and love planning my life so that I am able to create and attract everything I love into it. Its a life long project which keeps me perfectly content lol!
But sometimes I like to just go with the flow…as I am learning this is the best way to let life find you in all the unexpected places.
Last week we came back from a cruise with some dear friends. In all of my 53 years I had never thought I would want to be on a ship in the middle of the ocean as I am not a strong swimmer and hate deep waters. But I have been determined in my marriage to find a status quo where my hubby and I can travel together and see this big world of ours and a cruise just seemed like the perfect compromise.
As it turns out,
it was…
Bill absolutely loved everything about it, the food, the ship, the precise way everything was handled. He said it was like ‘leaving your brain at the door’ a real holiday where you just didn’t have to think or do anything you didn’t want to do. I loved it too, it made me feel like I was really on a holiday. You could do as much or as little as you wanted and there were plenty of options to suit all ages. Yes, its everything they say it is, fun, relaxed and a real holiday.
I was thinking about this while I was on the ship, if we just let life flow, then opportunities come to us where we previously might have put up walls and often when we least expect it the universe finds a way to bring to you something you have wanted for a very long time. When you later sit and look back, I am often in awe at how perfect it all seems when at the time it doesn’t make a lot of sense. Let me explain…
I have been planning a European holiday in my head for years leading up to my long service leave next year and due to circumstances my travel partner is unable to come with me and reluctantly I was planning to go on my own but all the while privately wishing that the only person I wanted to travel with was my husband. As we set off on our little South Pacific cruise it became apparent that due to a cyclone heading straight in our directional path we had to change course and in fact our international cruise became a domestic one as we headed back to Australia. As much as we were very grateful not to sail into the middle of a cyclone, this still meant that Bill had not travelled out of the country nor set foot on foreign turf. So, Bill and I laughed about this latest development and realised that the universe definitely had bigger plans for us so we took this as a sign that the South Pacific was not the destination the universe had in mind for us.
As compensation off a next cruise was given to us all, we decided to take the opportunity seeing as Bill now had a passport still unstamped and fierce determination that he wanted to use it, we booked another cruise next year which will take us to Hawaii, then we will fly over to San Francisco and work our way up to Canada then across and down to NYC where Bill can tick off one of his most precious bucket list items which is to walk across the Brooklyn Bridge, something he has always dreamt of doing. Its certainly going to be one special trip for us to remember forever 🙂
With Bill being such a photography buff, I think he has a myriad of natural wonders to admire on this trip with the Grand Canyon, Bryce Canyon, Monument Valley as well as man made engineering feats like the Golden Gate Bridge as well as the Brooklyn Bridge. I too can tick off a few of my bucket list items, crossing Canada by rail, and seeing Lake Louise, Banff and Jasper, oh and lets not forget Niagara Falls on the other side!
Oh my, the universe
could not have got it
more perfect…
Travelling takes us to places we have never been, it stretches our lives, helps put important things into perspective and always, always, makes me so very grateful for what I have and where I live. On our cruise, our personal steward Sharleen opened up to us one morning as we had wondered why whenever we went back in our room our curtains were closed. Sharlene is a new mum who has left her homeland, The Philippines with her husband to work on the ship. Their contracts state 10 months continuous work 10 hours each day, 7 days a week with no days off. They work tirelessly and always with a smile to make our holidays perfect. Sharlene told us she left her baby with her mother in law so they can try to buy a house and she doesn’t like to look at the sea as this reminds her of her baby far away so she would close the curtains as she cleaned. As one mother looking into another mothers eyes, I saw her heartbreak and pain and thanked the universe again for the life I lead. Even though I was also a young working mother, I went home every night and hugged my children and put them to bed. I saw their first steps and heard their first words, Sharlene will not. And what a sacrifice she has made. We left Sharlene our island money we had saved up and not used, hoping she would be able to get something for her daughter with it.
In one short conversation, Sharlene taught me to appreciate my life even more. Travelling lets us in on the other stories in the world, it lets us know that there are those worse off than us, that even though we all have our pain and different things we deal with, there is always someone else who is worse off. I think this makes me a better person knowing this. I think it stops me from complaining about silly things which others would love to have as their problem. I think it makes me more compassionate.
There is another storm brewing in my life right now where I need to just let life flow and follow the nudges which are appearing loud and clear. Its time now to practice what I know of letting go and trusting again in this wonderful universe I know is my friend. And while I am doing that and not worrying about the hows and why’s I can spend the rest of this year planning for the most exciting and perfect holiday to spend with the one I love 🙂