It’s amazing how much a little peace and quiet can help you clear your mind, isn’t it? For the first time in a long time, you can suddenly hear things you never noticed, see things you seldom paid attention to before, it’s as if all of your senses come alive – become refined. And yet, despite the heightened intensity of it all, everything immediately becomes clear.
This life is relentlessly fast-paced, so the having space and time to be at one with yourself is essential. Though I’ve discovered, many people don’t enjoy it. They tell me that they could never willingly wander off alone and feel excited about it, and they appear concerned at the mere thought that such an idea would leave them disconnected from the world around them. But to me, a trip away from the noise seems like the perfect opportunity to find out exactly what je ne sais quoi has been missing from my life.
Whilst some people go abroad solely to tan and get wasted (I just get burned and spend more time sipping green tea than G&T’s) I go away to explore. Even if it’s as small a search as finding a nice shaded spot to draw or pen out my thoughts, I wander to find serenity – to gather up little pieces of myself and then work out my next steps in life.
I’ll admit, at first, it’s pretty overwhelming. Like walking into a library with never-ending shelves of books, now is the opening moment you finally get to sit down and read them all.
But, there’s so many!
Where on earth do you begin?
Your head spins as you spin taking it all in. Your dizzied mind renders you motionless from such a turn. It’s just too much!
However, there is one place you know well. A part of you that – although seems far away – is actually vital at signalling where to go next…
“Sometimes we have to take a step back before we can figure out how to move forwards. We may not always want to, but one day, pausing for thought will help make sense of the view that lies ahead, and when that day eventually comes, you’ll be glad you took the time out to take it all in.”
And that’s exactly where I went.
In order to know how to move on in my life, I needed to look back. Sounds wacky, right? But I needed tranquillity in my mind and in my environment so that I could truly see where my past choices lead me. I had to discover why I felt the emotions I do now and not before.
Who was I then?
Who am I now?
What we don’t always realise is that the path we walk on can change direction at any time. It’s not fixed. The past is the only thing that’s set in stone. But our future, well, that’s up to us. As much as some things seem determined to push us off course, the power ultimately lies within us to step back and make the next move.
So, when it comes to moving forward, know that whilst you may not like where you are now, it doesn’t mean you’re stuck there for good. If life’s a journey, then it’s not over unless you stop living it. You’re still here, still moving (still reading these words) and still planning out your movements over the next few days – maybe even months – ahead. I know you won’t give up. As much as you say you want to sometimes, you won’t.
Because you know this fact.
The journey’s not over, it’s just incomplete.
Sacha Kurucz 