An Unexpected Awakening

“And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.” - Anaïs Nin

About a month or so ago, I woke up from a dream. And when I woke up, my heart shattered because this dream I was dreaming was over and not even real to begin with. Now that realization hit me like a ton of bricks. The dream barely even started, yet there was already a clear and abrupt ending to it. It’s like being offered a jar of Nutella, tasting the spread for the very first time, and loving it so much that you want more, but then right before your next spoonful, the universe takes the jar back, and informs you that it doesn’t actually belong to you in the first place nor is it good for you to have more. Ouch, right? 

Such is life though. Whirlwinds and twists and turns cannot be avoided, unfortunately. They are meant to be faced head on and experienced – easier said than done, I know. In my opinion, experience is arguably the most effective and harshest teacher because the test comes before the lesson. And when emotion is tied to the experience, it resonates even more deeply. To know what it’s like to have hoped, to have lost, to have cried, and to have gained is incredibly humbling. This dream definitely served as a humbling reminder of who I was but no longer am, and slowly, I began to let go of what I felt in that dream. When I learned to release with grace, I realized what an awesome unexpected gift this actually was for me. That marked the beginning of celebrating this profound enlightenment for what it was. On that note, let’s do a quick CHEERS with this super delicious red sangria I had the other night:

Instead of retreating, which would have been my typical reaction, I decided to throw myself into many more new situations and took more risks because I wanted to do things differently. This time around, I wanted to go bravely and deeply. Remaining stagnant was (and is) no longer in my vocabulary.

So, as painful as it may have been for me to learn things the hard way, I do find great comfort in the fact that, as a teacher, friend and family member, nothing ever goes to waste because I get to impart what I’ve learned from observation and experience when others seek for my advice. Being granted opportunities to turn pain into purpose has been so healing, liberating, and empowering. I’m truly grateful for the ability to connect the dots, create more out of what’s given to me, and the ever-growing support system I have. 

There really is power in allowing situations to teach you what you still have yet to learn. Once I let loose and allowed things to happen, life became a whole lot more interesting and eventful afterwards.

Folks, what I hope you take away from this is:

Sometimes, it takes getting lost for you to enjoy the joy of being found (again and again and again). Life is way too short not to be authentically yourself. And if you’re like me who tends to wonder what’s next, my answer is: MAGIC, that’s always what’s next! #LiveYourMostAuthenticLife