The Gift That Keeps on Giving

There will likely never be a single life’s journey that’s identical; commonalities may exist along the way of course, but the same…no.

Recently, I was fortunate enough to travel to Costa Rica with 7 wonderful Mocha Majestics! As we rode ATVs through rough terrains, ziplined through the rainforest, and rode horses up hills along the country side, I was in awe of my surroundings…the expansive views of greenery, the tops of volcanoes, the presence of monkeys swinging from tree to tree and branch to branch, the expansive amount of butterflies flying, and the presence of iguanas roaming freely through areas that were so natural for them, but initially a shock for us…I mean, raccoons popped up for dinner, while monkeys swung overhead as if they were saying “hi, or “bye” depending on how you chose to look at it.

As I allowed myself to revel in each moment, and take in all that I was seeing, feeling, and experiencing; I realized that that this was so much more than a Girls Trip.  It was a journey of self discovery. It was about doing at least one thing for the first time, it was about stretching yourself beyond limits you didn’t think you could reach, doing things you feared even while you remained terrified, and releasing your inhibitions so that you could discover (or remember) what you were made of in the first place.

On our last night, I wrote down 8 words that I saw emerge as very important puzzle pieces in a journey to self discovery while on this trip.  At our final sit down dinner, I asked each woman to pull a word, discuss how they experienced that word on the trip, and how the use of that word could add value to what we chose to do when we returned home and embarked upon a new year (yes, I’m that friend)!  The irony of this entire activity, is that we randomly chose the words, but the words chosen by each one of us was a perfect fit  based on our personal experiences and struggles on this trip, as well as where we are in our lives.  There were no tricks involved, but a Divine Power must have wanted to ensure that the messages were received.   The words were: Faith, Endurance, Agility, Spontaneity, Fearlessness, Flexibility, Hope, and Steadfastness.  It matters least who chose what words, and matters most that these words speak volumes on so many levels.

I can go on and on about the fun and the experience itself, but instead, I’ll leave you with a few lessons we learned with the hope of providing you with a nugget for yourselves:

1.  Women empowering women is a powerful thing.  Surround yourself with people who make you better.  Iron sharpens iron, and you will never grow surrounded by people who can’t sprinkle a little water your way from time to time.

2.  Fear is a hell of a beast, but your mind is an even bigger beast.  Some of us were terrified of getting on the horses, but got on anyway. The thought of swinging through massive amounts of trees while holding on to a cable was terrifying to many of us, but as a collective, we did it anyway!  All I can say about that is…it was pure comedy complete with an abundances of yelling, screaming, and maybe an expletive here and there (you had to be there)!  The takeaway here is, fear has as much power as you give it so take your power back; or never give it away in the first place.

3.  The road travel may be rough, dirty, muddy and wet, but on the other side of the mess is a treasure.  As we rode ATVs through various terrains, at times almost flipping off (ummm, that’s another story), we had no idea where we were headed.  Our guides finally stopped, pulled us over, and led us on a climb up some rocks (Don’t ask, just remember the word comedy was stated earlier). After the rough roads and muddy waters, on the other side of that climb was a beautiful waterfall and an abundance of peace; we were simply in awe of what we were seeing (and we didn’t mind relaxing for a sec either).  Lesson:  The road traveled may not be easy, but if you have the courage to go through the madness, you end up at the foot of peace.

4.  Limitations may make things difficult, not impossible.  Now see, some of us might have a little more assets than others, which made some of the climbs and obstacles we encountered difficult, but it did not make them impossible.  Sometimes we have a tendency to place limitations on ourselves and say it can’t happen, without acknowledging the fact that we are often our only deterrent to our own progress…you have the power to remove the roadblocks that you put in place.

5.  Love you! Take time for you! Take care of you. This requires no explanation, just action.  You are worth it!!!!!

This journey was another chapter to our individual books of life.  Life is precious; it is a gift.  Embrace it and live it.  It is truly the gift that keeps on giving.  We walked away with gifts received and gifts to give!  One of the gifts I have been given is the courage to share my words on this platform for the first time!  Welcome to Life is But A Song!

PS…Live your life likes it’s golden and live it without fear; be brave!

Song References:  Jill Scott-Golden    Sara Bareilles-Brave