Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Monday, October 20, 2008

In 12 month's time...

One year ago today, I was setting foot on a plane to Bangkok, Thailand, alone and weary that I was making a big mistake. On the contrary, that was the adventure that started it all. With the travel bug imbedded deeply in my soul, I feel incredibly fortunate to have experienced so much in such a short period of time. Looking back over the past 12 months, I've had a lifetime's worth of memories, challenges, and developments. I've visited 8 countries, spoken bits and pieces of 5 languages, made friends from all around the world, lost a friend nearest and dearest to me, and have accepted spirituality as an omnipresent force in my life. Most importantly, I have developed a trust in humanity that has changed my perspective of the world we live in.
At this "ripe old age" of 28, I have nothing and everything in the same breath. I have learned to live as a minimalist, with next to nothing, and have gained everything as a result. I have nothing to hold on to, and nothing to let go. I continue to grow, I continue to change, I continue to learn, for my thirst for knowledge is ever increasing. I will make new friends and learn new lessons. I will put the lessons that I have learned in my previous years to good use, for this lifetime is cumulative. We live, we learn. Change is the only constant as the tide ebbs and flows. I am taking observant notes as I pass by things of importance in this life, I recognize them and record them in my minds eye. I am flexible and free and ready for life to show me more of my story. I believe in destiny, as I always have, however I now know that I have control over it. I know that my personal decisions will influence the direction of my destiny. I know that all we can do in this life is treat all people with kindness and respect, and watch how the story unfolds. I know that being a good person is the secret to happiness.
What lies in my near future? I ask myself that on a daily basis, but I also quiet my mind and know that whatever is meant to be will happen. I have learned to let go of expectations, and live in the present. This is a development that is at the root of my happiness. Things come to me when I need them, and not when I don't. This is the very realization that has governed my life for the last 27 years. My job is simply to remain positive and allow the arms of destiny to catch me when I fall and empower me when I feel weak. I have guardian angels watching over me, whispering in my ear. I have learned to listen to them.
I think this attitude towards life has gotten me into the position that I am in now. I merely have to think of what I need, and it appears. When I last wrote an entry, I had just celebrated my 28th birthday at the Daintree Rainforest. In the days that followed, Mick and I spent 3 beautiful days at a place called Luster Creek, recommended to us by a lovely person named Robin whom had given us a blessing in disguise by telling us about this wonderful secret place where she goes to unwind. I knew Robin was special when I first met her. Luster gave me a chance to write about things that had been on my mind. Our days there were so memorable. I was able to meditate there, and ask the universe for what I needed. From Luster, we didn't know where we would go. We were nearly out of money, and there were no jobs around. The only thing we could think of was to go back to the strawberry farm, where we really enjoyed the people, living situation and the work. We rang up Marg, the owner of the farm, and left a message asking if she needed us back. She returned with an answer saying that she had plenty of workers, and that the season was slowing down. Disappointed, but unsettled, we felt that Marg would call us back. We were really good workers, and we knew that she valued us, and would do what it took to get us back. Two days later, we got a message from Marg asking when we could start.
We finished the season out at Marg's strawberry farm earning about $1000 for the 10 days work, which we figured would help get us to the next place...where that was, we did not know. We had just planned on driving south, looking for work. A few days before we finished, Marg's husband Allen mentioned that he might be able to get us a really good paying job in town building 3 million dollar trucks. A few phone calls, and a couple of days later, we were packing up our things, and heading to Mackay to move into a share house, and start our new job earning $38 dollars an hour, just the break that we needed. After having worked numerous picking jobs making decent money, and living in caravan parks (which we actually didn't mind) we would both be earning more money than we ever had, and living in a home again. And here we are!
While I never thought I'd be part of the labor commission wearing steel capped boots, work pants and a hi-vis shirt building trucks with a bunch of Aussie blokes, I feel so fortunate to have this opportunity. We are working in the paint division, sanding, painting and prepping parts to be put together to build a truck that will go out to the mines. If we can stick it out for a few months, we'll be really well set up to do whatever we want to do. I'll be earning nearly $1,600 a week, and at that rate, I should be able to pay off a good chunk of my debt, and have some money in the bank to set myself up for the next adventure, whatever it may be. I've learned that this life is all about rolling with the punches and paying attention to the signs. Everything has lined up to get me to where I am today, and I need to take advantage of this opportunity to get out of the hole. This will help to eliminate financial stress in the future, something that I have been putting on the back burner during my time of freedom and travel. I have a feeling that I will learn a great bit from this experience, and maybe, just maybe, some of my co-workers will learn a little something from me. Now, I just have to get home for the holidays...