When I was 24ish, I was in so much physical pain from car-snowboarding-skiiing-soccer-ice skating-crazy teenager accidents that I thought I’d be in pain my entire life.
I couldn’t imagine what it would be like to not get days-long migraines, feel a knife blade digging into my neck, have a dagger poking under my shoulder blade.
Then yoga and deep breathing/mental focus techniques found me, and I found freedom.
As I was watching a yoga video one day, in which the instructor was wearing purple and leading me through yoga moves while sitting on a rock overlooking the ocean, I had a very loud, clear and surprising thought: “I want that to be me!”
Fast forward many years, and I found myself wearing purple, leading a group of women in a yoga class in the sunshine on the beach on Blake Island. I nearly cried when I realized how close to my vision that moment was.
This realization also solidified my belief in having clear visions and holding onto them in our hearts and minds, no matter how far-fetched they might seem.
The experiences and seemingly serendipitous events that come together to bring these visions to reality can’t be planned, but they do need to be recognized and opportunities taken, even when saying YES is scary as hell and saying no seems so much easier.
But saying no seems to me to only be easier on the surface, as the damage done to our belief in ourselves is eroded each time. I do believe it’s important to learn to say no, but only to those things and people that don’t hold true to our authentic selves.
Anyway, this whole train of thought was brought about by a link to a photo a couple Journey For Purpose kayak trip participants sent to me – it’s me leading a yoga class on Blake Island, tucked into the shade on a hot day, the water and our campsite all around us.
While I’m not excited about my a** being towards the camera, the memory of this moment puts me in awe of this incredible journey called life. I’m not wearing purple in this one, but I often am!
Thank you to everyone who has been a part of my journey – it’s been a wild one and I can hardly wait to see what adventures are to come!