Sometimes it takes a traumatic experience to truly understand what life is really about. It's part of human nature to learn the hard way, it seems. No matter what the situation is, we learn and grow from each experience. If I hadn't gotten a divorce many years ago, I wouldn't be living and working in Asia. A friend once told me...it's not the goal but the journey that's important. Too often we become blinded by the goal and forget to enjoy ourselves along the way. This was the best advice I've ever been given. Now I live from day to day...enjoying each moment as it comes. It's the only way to live, for me.
Living overseas has truly been an amazing experience. If an opportunity comes your way, at any time, take it!! Seriously. (Who wants to live with regrets? Honestly.) If nothing else, it provides you with something you will remember forever. Memories are so wonderful...and photos help remind you that it wasn't just a dream. If you've had a traumatic or emotional crisis in your life...take time out to reflect and decide what is most important to you. Go back to school, move, change jobs or travel. Whatever it takes. When I left my native country, I wasn't recovering from anything major. I just wanted a change. It took me a year to plan it but here I am now....living in Asia. Believe me, if I can do it, so can you!
Maybe you'll only try it for a year but it's not that much time out of your life. Really. The year will fly by. (Meanwhile, I've been here for over 4 years.) I'm nearing the end of my journey here but I look forward to new adventures. I've decided that I need to live on the edge once in a while. Maybe going home will be too frustrating but that's something I'll deal with, if and when that happens.
The most important thing is to enjoy the moment. Too often we don't realize, until we look in hindsight, what we had. I realize now, after living near the Rockies for 6 years, how silly it was for me not to have spent more time exploring its magnificence. (Silly of me.) So, if I should have another opportunity to do it again...I will take full advantage. We can't go back and rewind our lives, no matter how much we want to. (Ideally, we want to live our lives without regrets.) So many people put things off for years....then they wake up one day and wonder where the time went. Who wants to live like that? This may be our one and only chance to make the most of our lives....and believe me...it's an amazing and empowering experience to take a chance in life. Trust me! As they say...just do it!!! (For all you young graduates...it's a chance of a lifetime to see and experience other cultures.) If I could do it over again, I would have done this when I first graduated instead getting married right away. But I have no regrets about how I lived my life. Everything happens for a reason...just as it should. It's all in the "grand design", whatever that may be. I don't question it any more...I just go with the flow. And follow my gut instinct as much as I can.
Trust yourself, give it a whirl...after all, what have you got to lose? I used to be really uptight, conservative and never took risks. I'm the complete opposite now. Sure, I've mellowed with age but most people my age are married with kids, house and career. Sounds great, right? And for some, this is great...exactly what they want. But for others, maybe this isn't enough. Follow your heart, take chances and see where your road leads you. Sometimes taking the more difficult path is worth it (and the one you're meant to take.) They say...what doesn't kill us, makes us stronger.
Finally, I just want to add that should you find yourself standing at a cross-road, take a deep breath and plunge into an adventure. You'll be glad you did. It's truly an empowering experience. You'll learn so much about yourself and how to deal with real life situations. And best of all, you'll learn to trust yourself. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. You've heard all the cliches but there's some truth to most of them. Take the bull by the horns and go for it.
Best of luck to all of you. If you want any advice or suggestions, please feel free to drop me a line any time.
Remember, enjoy the journey...after all...it's YOUR life!
Cheers,
Bev
