Most Events Aren’t Planned
The right path – it’s often going to be the hard one. It’s going to be the one that requires you to believe something that comes with no guarantees….the right path is going to require you to let go of the reins – to walk forward with what other people might call blind faith. ….. and it’s going to begin with nothing but a feeling……it’s an untouchable wisdom that nobody can take away. It’s the consciousness that doesn’t exist inside your head but resides within your heart.” -Zanna Keithly
After years of saving, endless hours of researching, and only a matter of days before departure… It was time to let go of the idea that we were going to Africa. The dream of trekking to the Silverback Gorillas in Bwindi National Park, a week-long safari in beautiful Uganda, summiting the highest volcano in Rwanda, and traversing the immaculate sand dunes in Namibia was having to be set aside. It hurt and I would be lying if I said there weren’t many tears involved.
Back in October, we had a horrible situation in sending an international wire to my friend, Stephen, who organized all of our permits, entry-fees, guides, and accommodations for mine and Justin’s first week of a six week adventure...That money never made it…lost in some arbitrary wire between our bank and his. An investigation was started back in early November, and we held onto hope that the situation would be sorted out before we left, but days went by and the trip’s departure loomed closer and closer. We were at a loss for what to do but, as much as it hurt, we needed to tune into that inner guidance and understand that it simply was not going to work out. Perhaps it was a sign. This was the lesson we were meant to receive in going to Africa…or not going, rather. The trick was to surrender to the flow and, with less than five days before departure, we canceled our flights.
It is the experiences in our lives that lead us to develop a deeper connection with oneself and much of my personal work over the past couple of years has been about loosening the grip…letting go of the control, perfectionism, and expectations that I put on myself and the way my life unfolds. And this lesson played out again in letting go of Africa. As much as I wanted to force it to work out, there is great beauty in dropping into the body and listening to that inner guidance. Everything in my body was saying “absolutely not” but I resisted. I grasped for a better outcome. I hoped that everything would work out and although I believe there’s importance in maintaining a positive mindset, I believe even more in listening to the bells and whistles in my body screaming, “this does not feel right!”.
Our flights were canceled and, thankfully, we received a flight credit. Almost immediately I was able to find that vibrational alignment and ease that has been so chaotic in my body for so many weeks…so I started researching….where in the world can we go?!...Thailand, the Philippines, Japan, India…. Well, the Universe (and cheap airfare) is guiding us to South America. We are now on our way to Bogota, Colombia with a one-way ticket. We’ve never been, we don’t know what we’ll do, or how long we’ll stay, but I downloaded some Lonely Planet books to my kindle and we will figure it out as we go! Ecuador? Peru, perhaps?!
I do recognize that our loss is a loss because of our privilege and, for that, I’m grateful for the abundance and the ability to work hard to save for a trip like this. I trust that this is the adventure we were meant to take at this time. We will heal from our loss of Africa, with hope of the money finding its way back to us, and we will embrace this new culture and place with love and curiosity.
