What does it mean to really live ?
I’ve always been the logical thinker. The first one to second guess situations. The one who usually won’t take any irrational risks without finding a way out of it first. Looking back at it, I allowed fear to control my life and it has gotten me NOWHERE.
2020 has been an awakening year for many of us. Quarantine forced some to reflect on certain aspects of your lives that are usually hidden deep within our minds.
For me it awakened the question, what does it really mean to live? Have I been living? The answer is, I haven’t. Not that I couldn’t, I just wasn’t taking chances. Society and money will do that to you. It will create an invisible boundary around you, making you think that you can’t do things that you very well can.
Looking back there were so many opportunities I missed from choosing not to live, and choosing to play it safe. Playing it safe keeps you alive, it keeps you stable, but we’re all going to die anyway so why not live for today? Ok, that’s a little morbid, but you get my point. After being confined for what seemed like a year, and watching days pass by faster than I am productive. I agreed to take a spontaneous trip to Mexico, even though my anxiety was through the roof!
“I’m an introverted Taurus, I need a 1 day advance notice just to hang out.”
So, when I say it was a spontaneous trip. I also meant it was the most spontaneous thing -I’ve ever done. I went on this trip with a 3 day notice. Got my girl to re-braid my raggedy ass braids. I had been procrastinating taking them out everyday that week. Overnighted 3 bikinis because I couldn’t fit the ones I had anymore. My booty got bigger. Thought about opting out of it twice because I wasn’t prepared. I’m so happy I didn’t.
In that short labor day weekend I learned more about myself and life outside of the quarantine bubble. Which made me question, what does it truly mean to live? Is it exploring the world or staying rooted? Is it having enough money that you never care to look at the price tag, or it is having enough to get by? Am I living or maintaining?
“Living is doing exactly what you want to do. It’s taking chances, and learning from them. It’s growing mentally as you grow physically.”
My 3 days and 2 nights in Mexico helped me understand the value in being spontaneous and living with no regrets. It made me more inclined to do more out of the blue activities, and to be on time so I don’t miss those activities. It made me accept flaws that I usually hide, this trip I had no time to hide them. It stopped me from wanting to be in control all the time.
Lately, I’ve been working on taking every situation as a lesson or a blessing, this trip was definitely both. So, I summed up some of the values I took from my spontaneous adventure to Mexico.
Maybe they could lead you to yours.
If it feels right in your gut, do it. I’m a firm believer that your intuition gives you the answers you need. You can sense when the energy is bad or good, go with it, and stick to it. If I would have gotten any bad vibrations about my trip, I wouldn’t of gone.
Take a chance, it might change your life. Taking chances has its ups and downs, but what’s life without chance? It’s boring, and you won’t get what you truly desire. Learn from past mistakes.
Live in the moment when you do something for the first time. Taking pictures for memories is always a must, but be careful not to stay on the phone. There were moments I would stare into the ocean or at the beach on the trip. Just amazed at the scenery. I took in the moment as if it was my last, and now those moments are all I think about.
If it won’t kill you or make you broke, do it. What else do you have to lose? Unless it’s your marriage or relationship; then don’t.
Go into situations with a positive attitude, even if you’re unsure. Fear feeds on negativity, and a negative start always has a negative outcome.
I went on a trip with 11 people knowing only 1 person. I had no idea what was going to happen, but I wanted to have a good time. So I put out that energy and received a better time that I ever could have imagined.
“Not all risks are going to be good, but some can be just what you need, when you need it, so why not do it”
xox Black Daria