Some of you may have noticed I have taken some time off of traveling for most of this month. This was entirely intentional, and while these three weeks have flown by, I am excited to hit the road–or should I say the skies–again next weekend. Until then, I thought I would share what I have been doing these last few weeks.
I have been doing absolutely nothing. Well, not nothing, but what has consumed most of my ‘time off’ will be shared at a later time. Other than that, I really have been just sitting around, and for the first time in a long time, it felt great. In a since-deleted post with an update on my life, I discussed the new adjustments I had going on and the toll they were taking on me. I have since found that the catalyst for the change, and partly what filled the inexplicable void in my life, was traveling. I have been to four places since that post: Cabo, Los Angeles, New Orleans, and Boston. It may sound weird and I am at the risk of sounding like the girl in this video, but since I have introduced travel back into my life, I have seen a shift in the way I have been leading other parts of my life.
My attention has turned from, “What’s missing,” to “What can I add?” I have given myself the mental capacity to basically start the foundation of the foundation for future goals that I hope to start working toward toward the end of this year as well as next year. I genuinely see a difference in my outlook on life these days. Obviously, not everyday is great and many times each day, I ask myself a number of self-reflective questions.
Previously, I would see these moments as larger than they are and let it affect my mood; I would see idle time as a gateway into a dark place and I would compare my life to others who seemingly ‘have it all.’ However, I now choose to see these introspective moments as daily check-ins and reminders for the larger goals for myself.
The key right now is patience. I am a very sensitive and emotionally-intuitive person so I tend to drive myself up the wall. I have to remind myself that these moments will pass, but in the mean time to explore them fully and find the lessons within. I know great things are in my future because, quite frankly, I refuse to let anything else be the case.
Life has a funny way of showing you what you want, and often times in the complete opposite way you imagined it–in the way you never realized you need. See how much of a difference a couple months has made?
xx, AE
Lex in the City 