“Leaving on a jet plane…”

-


 

Shared by Kristina Smedley

And… It feels like I don’t know when I’ll be back again!

I’m going on an adventure… to a retreat/course outside San Francisco. And I can’t wait!

I’m going to be on a ranch for about a week.
Surrounded by rolling hills and nature.

It will be a relatively small group (I think) and the description includes: “breaking up old beliefs that don’t support your vision and then taking massive action in another direction.”

Perfect! I love this type of personal development and increased knowledge and understanding.

So, it was all good… until late last night when (at the last minute of course) I opened up the packing list/info and actually read the details…

– Ear plugs, for light sleepers
– A robe and flip flops for the shower area
– A flashlight
– Sturdy but loose pants… I don’t know what that means these days, but I haven’t owned those since 7th grade!!
– Outdoor gloves with leather palms
– A cocktail dress
– AND, think about what I’m willing to risk this week!

Immediately my mind flooded with questions/worries…

“will I have a roommate, or maybe we sleep on bunk beds on a loft, maybe an open-air cabin-like 4th-grade girl scout camp”

“a flashlight… are we going to be walking around in the dark together… I hope not alone… are there coyotes here too.. I hope the bathroom isn’t out there!”

“please, please, please don’t require public/individual dancing humiliation… I mean dancing”

“I hope I don’t really need sturdy/loose pants… workout leggings are just about the exact opposite!”

 

Then I remembered the nice texts and emails I had been getting in the last couple weeks from the event coordinators making sure I was ready to go and if I had any questions.

“Yep, I’m ready to go. Can’t wait! No questions.”
Of course I didn’t have any questions… I hadn’t read all this info yet!

Did other people ask all these questions that are now running through my head!

Then I caught myself.
This is basically my M.O…. get just enough info and planning and going for it. I never read the packing list or info early!

I tell myself: “I’m good at adjusting on the fly.
Altering as I encounter whatever comes next.”

So, “no need to worry!”

Just pack way too much (the “exploding suitcase” as Sennad would say) to most likely have whatever I’ll need.

And decide that I’m willing to risk not being 100% prepared, not knowing all the details, to let my guard down, partake in public dancing humiliation if called upon, and being uncomfortable.

With a 51 pound suitcase and what feels like a 51-pound duffle bag, I made it to San Francisco today.

I expect this will be challenging and very rewarding.

We’ll see what the “massive action in another direction” might entail!
Wish me luck!

 

#FiercelyOptimistic

#MindfullyEvolving

 Check out what we're up to now!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

"Learning to Crawl..."

-
Image
  Shared by Kristina Smedley Kaden has been blowing our minds with his persistence in learning how to crawl. I don’t know why this is surprising. For some reason, I expected that babies just crawled… not that I would see his very visible effort into actually learning and practicing how to crawl. #newmom ;-)   About two weeks ago, he started getting further up on his hands. And started a little rocking back and forth. Then slowly we saw a knee pop-under him.   Then a little lat pull-down type action to use his arms to lunge himself forward. Then all in about 24 hours he was army crawling, then getting his legs into it, and then suddenly he was coordinated and crawling around. I loved watching him figure this out.   And watching him struggle a little with something until he got the next piece down, and the next, and the next. And honestly, Kaden has been a great reminder to me that I too have to learn to crawl first, before I can walk and eventually run. And even ‘crawling' isn't
Read more

“Streaks…”

-
Image
  Shared by Breanne Smedley Spend time around high schoolers and you’re sure to hear the word, “streaks.” More specifically, phrases along the lines of: “I gotta keep my streaks.” Or, “We broke our 100-day streak yesterday!” If you don’t hang out with high school-aged people every day, let me fill you in. “Streaks” refer to the ongoing exchange of photos/messages between two people on SnapChat. If a friend and I snap chat with each other for two days in a row, we have a two-day streak. Three days in a row, a three-day streak. Five days, a five-day streak. And so on until one person breaks it ad the streak has to start back over. Kids get a little neurotic about their streaks. I overheard a student talking about how she gave her SnapChat login information to a friend so that she could “keep her streaks” while on vacation without cell service. That’s commitment and problem-solving at it’s finest right there. While sometimes I don’t get it (because apparently I’m old and I haven’t even re
Read more

“Exhausted vs Inspiring…”

-
Image
  Shared by Kristina Smedley “Exhausted vs Inspiring…” I have noticed two pretty distinct responses from others when I share what’s going on in my life right now. “Wow, that is inspiring!” -OR- “Ugg, you must be exhausted!” It seems that they’ve either had the experience of following their dreams and understand the commitment, hard work, and pure energy gained on the journey… whatever their personal journey might be. Or they’ve sat back in life, thinking it would just be too hard or not possible. We all run into this choice at one point or another. I’ve definitely had those moments where I didn’t go for it. And I remember feeling sluggish, uninspired… exhausted. This is the exact opposite of what life is like when stepping into, what we call, our ImpactZone™. Here, there’s unlimited energy as our passions are discovered and acted on. Where are our skills and abilities are utilized and further developed. Where we have a deep and meaningful purpose. Here, life is exciting, challenging, a
Read more