Growth - Learning - Catharsis

I used to think that people who changed directions, changed beliefs, and changed who they were at great frequency, were drifters. Directionless and headed away from the sun. Aimless.  I used to think that carefree was equated to careless and that being stable was ideal.  Then I shifted my perspective.  Isn't it funny? When I shifted perspective, I saw these folks as life-learners and I saw stability could be equated to stagnancy.  I saw that I was one of these life-learners and I am definitely not heading away from the sun. In fact, I may be closer to the sun than ever.

Each and every person you meet and each situation you encounter is a learning opportunity.  Sure, some of those people and some of those situations are not happy and far from good.  But, you gain an opportunity to grow and learn. If this is learning, then that makes us all teachers.  Right now I am going through a point in my life where I want to learn it all. I have a voracious appetite for some of the craziest things to do and things to learn from.  I offer my heart to others to teach about growth and development. I bear my soul to let people know it's okay to be yourself.  I blog, not only to share catharsis, but to encourage.

When you change yourself, you are growing. You have an important choice to make, whether you want this change to be positive or negative. Whether you want to dwell on the past or move forward into the present moment.  This may all sound airy fairy and whimsical... but this is how I live. I view encounters as a growth opportunity and I try to take positive aspects from people who touch me and "grow" with it.  It takes time to understand journeys, growth, mindset shifting, and positivity. It takes an effort to be conscious, engaged, and present.  It takes work to find the true you - but it is possible.

The highest version of yourself is there.  As Mark Twain said "the two most important days of your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why." This gives me chills... I get excited just reading it!

Over the weekend, I embarked on a growing opportunity.  One of my best friends and someone who has taught me lots, Karen and I, embarked on a girl's night out adventure.  We met in graduate school, way back in the day, and have kept up with each other since. Certainly there were peaks and valleys in the friendship as it is with life - but now we are very close and embarking on our journey to higher self-versions together. We left our husbands with the kids and met in Asheville for the evening.  Karen lives in SC and I'm in NC - but Asheville is a 45 minute drive for us both so it works as a meeting place.  What could have been a trip of day drinking and chatting, turned into a spiritual journey and pilgrimage.

Our journey started well.  We did a little shopping around town and then headed to a Tibetan Buddhist ceremony at the Urban Dharma.  We sat through meditative chants and explanations of reincarnation, kindness, and compassion. The process touched my heart. We were cleansed of impurities and it had me longing for more.  It had me wanting to provide more compassion in my life.  I just want to smile and laugh.  It was ground breaking in the process of discovering my why. We discussed the ceremony afterward and I hope to learn more.  Both Karen and I are plant-based eaters, her more so plant-based than me as I ascribe more to veganism than "plant-based."  My diet is for ethical reasons and hers seems to be dietary and medicinal (if that makes any sense)...  but, in Asheville, that is no problem.  We chose a vegetarian/vegan cafe and had jackfruit tacos (bahn mi style).  It was delightful eating! I could of eaten seven of those things!  After our meal, we headed to check into our dwellings.  We rented an RV through Airbnb, because--- why not. We set up our things in the RV and called Uber to get us safely back to town so we could hit a few breweries.  We hit the town running and reminisced about good old days, talked about our families, and then shared our dreams.  We found a bar off the beaten path, that was only meant to be found if you were seeking it --- which seemed to define the whole purpose of our trip.  In the end, we called Uber to take us back to RV, laughed some more, and slept.  We slept in that next morning and left for our homes with excited hearts.  What I took from this experience was 1) laughter and friendship is good for the soul; 2) compassion and kindness are everywhere if you know where to look; 3) doing things that are unconventional will teach you more than you could imagine; and 4) you have to do things for you to stay happy and healthy.

Life is an experience.  It's meant to teach you tremendously.  Make good choices and learn new things. Enjoy it all and be positive.  There are speedbumps and hardships, but it's all okay and works out in the wash. Learn from others - use them as teachers... grow in abundance.