The quick VL update:
- We are paused in Phoenix
- Rusty needs a new engine!!
- I am heading into my 2nd week of teaching a 4 week breath-work series and wrapping up my other course materials to complete my 2 year breath-work certification. Yahoo!
- Following the travel journey? Scroll down: a story about adaptability and releasing resistance.
With love, Heather
Story Time
Hello again! It’s been a few weeks. Our last story time left off with us camped in a cactus forest and sharing about my time on mainland Mexico. The theme was courage. If you missed it, you can read that here.
There has been a lot of living since then, for you too, I imagine. The people I receive counsel and guidance from shared with me that “everyone seems to be in a huge transition or a pivotal moment.”
Is that true for you?
Since my last newsletter, we camped on our final Baja beach in a little town called Bahia De Los Angeles. I would say that it is the most pristine beach (almost no litter) we came across in Baja. It was a breath of fresh air to be surrounded by mountains 360 degrees, to still be among the blossoming cactus’ and to have the Sea of Cortez right in front of us.
As we neared the border, Rusty decided it was time to holler again. Over the last few weeks we have had our fair share of “oh s*7t” moments mixed with the awe + gratitude inspiring “angel moments.”
For instance, this scenario at the beach. We needed to find a mechanic but we were too far to walk and BOTH of our bikes were out of service. Our next option was to try and find someone to ask, yet there was only 1 lady that we saw each day in the early morning walking her dog. So, the plan was for me to go have a chat with her the following morning.
The next morning I was out in the sunrise air doing my practice and she didn’t come!! But, there was another lady who we had not seen before, that was walking. The short story is THIS lady had a mechanic living on her property that was a VW van mechanic!!!!!!!!!!!! We were gratefully shocked. He arrived an hour or so later and helped get Rusty well enough to drive to the next biggest town where we received another helping hand.
There are “angel moments” like this and then there are the “oh s*7t” moments like being stuck at a random Arizona gas station parking lot from 1-10pm trying to figure out why oil was spouting out everywhere and why we were were losing power.
Here is the deal: the more “oh s*7t” moments you have that are of the same flavor, the better equipped you are to deal with that scenario the next time. It is not as shocking and they don’t quite knock you down as far as they did the first, second, third time.
You might be thinking “duh Heather” and yet how many times have you been in a challenging, frustrating, irritating situation and want it to be done pronto? Or, when was the last time you were angry, bent up, beaten down and you thought “why me, why now, why is this happening, please make it stop..?
What if we resisted less and accepted more? What if we accepted that sometimes we need to go through the same life lesson more than a few times in order to be more resilient in that situation moving forward? What if we accepted that life is colorful and neutral, light and dark, beautiful and terrifying. What if we stopped resisting the funk times?
At that end of the above day, both Peter and I looked at each other and expressed how proud we were of how we each handled the whole situation.
I WAS NOT able to be in “chill mode” about van situations like this 8 months ago. I didn’t have that muscle built up.
I notice that having this resiliency and acceptance muscle built up is cascading into multiple other areas in my life, including my relationship with myself and my business. Going through moments of challenge is uncomfortable, yes. And, feeling less resistance to the natural rhythms of life as we know it, is rewarding.
So, the inquiry/invitation for this week is this:
When can you let go of the resistance? And, instead you might say: “Okay, XXXX uncomfortable scenario, I am here and I’ve got this!.”
Thank you for reading! I appreciate and always find it valuable to hear from y’all. Send me an email, let me know what’s on your mind and in your heart?