Life is Fleeting

Life is so fleeting.  Just a few days ago, I was sitting on a rock at the edge of the ocean, with sunbeams dancing across my face, listening to the crash of the Pacific waves. Not to sound too dreamy or anything.  But lately that's what I have been thinking about - the impermanence of all things.  Whether it's good or bad, nothing will last.

There's a freedom in this fleeting nature of life, if you stop trying to desperately hold onto all everything, perhaps you can appreciate it more.  By knowing your life is limited, you can live more fully.  Our relationships are handled more carefully because we realize they are fragile.  Our circumstances stop defining us because we realize they are temporary.

This has been a huge relief to me.  At the moment, I am living at home, volunteering and chilling out, and I know this won't be forever.  I can take time to truly relax because I know that soon I will be back in school and travelling....sometimes I feel like I can't wait for this period of my life to be over, but I know in time, it will.

A Break

Around this time a year ago I was a very busy lady.  With a bunch of friends, we had just pulled off an international fashion show raising $2000 for the Stephen Lewis Foundation, I was writing exams for 5 courses, I had an amazing roommate,  I was a student reporter for ubco.tv, I volunteered at a daycare, and I did yoga.  On the outside everything looked fine and dandy, but I had hardly any time for myself and the pressure was building.

A year later, much has changed.  I decided to take a semester off to re-calibrate and figure some things out.  For the last month or two, I have been going to painting classes, doing some yoga, and volunteering occasionally at a coffee shop.  Sometimes I help my parents out with their work. I read more, I contemplate life, I write in my journal.  Taking the time off has helped me to see that who I am is more than a student.  I realized my identity was previously so caught up in being a student that in some ways I had forgotten who I really was.  I'm starting to rediscover who I am, in between cups of tea and downward facing dogs.

The plan is to travel in the next few months. I'm off to California and Oregon at the end of April, then to England, and finally (fingers crossed) off to New Zealand for 6 months.  It has been a dream of mine to make it down under and I can't wait to finally see such a beautiful country.

Deciding to take a break was difficult.  It seemed selfish.  But in the end, I think we need to nourish ourselves before we can truly make a difference.  Taking time out to chill or realize or dreams or follow a different route can truly refresh our outlook and help us to find center again.

So at the moment the university adventures have  been placed on hold, and I'm exploring the world with new eyes.  Hope to see you soon.