After leaving the safety of my corporate America job as an engineer, I have been experiencing life in new ways. I also have been living life in Bali. For anyone who doesn’t know, Bali is this magical little island in Indonesia with the most vibrant colors, nourishing foods, many other awakened people and adventures. Adventures on adventures. And having a scooter to scoot around the island only makes all things more accessible to me!
Settling into a routine, I have friendly faces that I pass every day, cravings for my new favorite nourishing meals, and special places to that call at my heart.
Waking up on this one morning, I found myself with a free hour to spare before a routine yoga class. An hour sounds nice, but what to do? At that moment I heard the little voice inside my head ask:
is there enough time for a waterfall visit?
Sounds like a no-brainer, huh? This waterfall always tugs at my heart. Every time the water washes over me, I am flooded with a warm sense of comfort. I feel presence, and love. The lush greenery dances around me, a dragonfly lands on my arm, and the birds happily soar over my head. Maybe the sight of this might just tug at your heart too!
Since I have been here in Bali, I have been trimming my routine and needs down to the basics to notice what serves me the best. While living in the normal grind that my schedule offered back in the states, I noticed my mind was getting overloaded with the “need” to do and be so many things. It was like I was trying to fit in a box that I didn’t fit in. I forgot why I was doing it all. Now, I have been welcoming in simplicity and the hard process of slowing down.
So you might be curious, what does this process look like…
Have you been hermiting? No, not at all.
Have you been adventuring? For sure, loving my experiences.
Has your idea of adventuring changed? Absolutely, it’s been an evolution.
So, why second guess the opportunity to visit the waterfall??
Let me start here. Adventuring has always seemed like a means of living for me. I have always been known to be the busy bee that has something exciting planned for the near future and was usually running off to some other event at that given moment. When granted a free hour, chill was not an option.
In previous trips and adventures, I noticed just how early my mind would start to attach to the action of going to a physical place to do a thing. It almost looked like romanticizing the experience before it actually ever happened. My mind would be there day or weeks before the event, yet my body wasn’t. Once my body arrived to the event on that day, my mind was already checked-out peering into the next event ahead. This cycle took me out of the experience that was happening before me.
That was when I realized: if I wasn’t living out adventure with life and joy, what’s the point?? Something had to change. A trip, which at one point might’ve filled me with so much life and energy was starting to feel taxing, as if it were a thing to be checked off the list. This list was the secret proof to others that I must really living out the way society deemed a good, happy, and thrilling life. Some list I’ve got there.
Back to the waterfall: To retrain my mind around the sense of enjoyment and pleasure, I had to be real with myself if I was going to enjoy my time at the waterfall.This brings me into the latest concept I have coined and been adapting into my life. It’s called adventuring awake.
Adventuring awake is actively choosing the adventure before it begins. It’s the process of allowing your mind to evaluate the realistic facts of the situation and not get caught up in the wild possibilities to know where you fully want to be. When you actively allow yourself to make a choice to be somewhere, it feels as though you have already invested something into the event. You’ve given yourself permission to show up and excitement to experience yourself! That means it takes some prep work to get your mind and body in agreement that they’ll show up together. Adventuring awake is knowing that you have the liberty to say yes or no to an invitation. An invitation can even be a thought that you have — much like my thought around going to the waterfall.
Spoiler alert — I did go to the waterfall and yoga that morning and truly loved every moment knowing that was exactly where I was supposed to be! And I bet you could see it now — adventuring awake is what I used to help me determine if I wanted to go to the waterfall. To break it down, here’s the process I used to help me identify the facts, my subconscious concerns, and determine what was best for me in that moment.
the process:
(1) facts
What are the cold hard facts you are evaluating. think: how much time do I have? who does this involve? what is joy does this serve me? is this realistic? is there discomfort? what’s it stemming from? what tools can you use? most importantly — why am I doing this?
example: want to be at the yoga studio in an hour
time — drive 8 min there; 5 min walk to and from the waterfall; 5 min drive to the studio
cost is not an issue (free)
what happens if I miss class — I’ll be disappointed and probably catch a class later (not the end of the world)
discomfort — yes, in potentially being late to class or class selling out. I haven’t tried this route out by myself but google maps doesn’t fail me. (once again, not the end of the world)
realistic — yes
tools — map out my schedule, set an alarm on my phone, create a mantra
my “why” — to relax, connect and make time for myself! also the waterfall will be so empty. all good waterfall juju. self love.
(2) evaluate your options
When looking at your options, be real with yourself. What are all of the options? You will notice what option will serve you the most and what thoughts you need to surrender to allow this experience to be enjoyable. Stick to the facts in these descriptions. You’ll be able to feel your emotions naturally when you read the options back.
example:
a) physically being at the waterfall yet neurotically thinking about the time and route it takes for me to get to yoga class on time
b) setting a timer and trusting myself that I will make it. if not, my schedule will adjust as needed.
c) no waterfall; go straight to yoga
(3) choose the option & fully commit to it
Be a yes; not a maybe so. This yes comes from your gut and might take some time to develop. Be patient and notice how your body feels when you make a decision and act on it. Your body will tell you if this was the right move or not. It’s so much easier said than done — be patient with yourself.
For example: I chose Option B. I set my timer, looked at the route, back tracked how much time I needed to feel comfortable, and continued to remind myself there how fortunate I was to make this decision for myself.
(4) create your mantras and tools
Everything works best for different people. Your personal tools are here to assist you in staying connected to the experience that is before you. Once you’ve done the above steps, you can relax and enjoy the moment. There’s nothing else to control. Creating brief yet powerful little sayings that help me to remember and support me.
A mantra is a brief phrase to help you be your best self. You can make a new one up each time or repeat the same one. Mine for the waterfall was:
I am here
I am here
I am here
Let’s try this again
is there enough time for a waterfall visit?
yes, there’s more than enough.
Originally published at https://www.itswhitneypaige.com on February 8, 2020.
