Surfing the Waves of Change

Imagine, you have come to a time when you assume that your education and experience are sufficient to handle whatever life might throw your way. Then imagine that same ‘life’ yanking the ground out from under your feet. Not an uncommon feeling when a major life change occurs. It definitely describes the sensations surrounding our move from the U.S. to the under developed Central American country of Honduras.

When the outcome of our choices are as we expect or better, people embrace the change like a new love affair.  If the change occurs differently than planned or when least expected, its affect can hit with the force of a tsunami.

The Universal Principle of Causation (Law of Cause & Effect) states that there are neither accidents nor mistakes. There are only results of our conscious or unconscious thoughts. From there, it’s all about what we decide to make of the experience. Will it crush us or make us greater?

In 2006 my husband, Ordin, and I decided to leave our Hawaiian home and move closer to family in the mainland U.S. A coastal lifestyle in the U.S. was cost prohibitive to us so we chose to move a bit south of there; Central America. It was a conscious plan that is easier to defend in retrospect than it was at the time of its conception. We sold our home, most of our possessions and left the country of our birth, heading for the Caribbean Coast of Honduras.

Surfing Hawaii’s treacherous winter waves cannot be harder than the emotional demand in letting go of friends bound heart to heart. However, changes happening within our mainland families required closing the distance. As prepared as we thought we were to immerse ourselves in a totally foreign culture, our decision would challenge us with experiences that we had never imagined.

If we had drawn a card from a tarot deck before leaving, it would have likely been the FOOL. The character of the fool is serendipitous, naive and trusting as he steps off of the cliff and out into the world. That pretty much sums up our shared state of mind as we set our sights east. In our hearts we knew that the outcome would ultimately be up to us. If we chose to see the result as a poor choice that is exactly what it would become. If we decided to see each new experience as part of an adventure then the sense of thrill would override any rising fright.

Eight years later we are still here. Our little beach town of El Porvenir feels like a Spanish speaking rendition of the TV program, Mayberry RFD.  It is a typical Honduras community with barely any English speaking inhabitants. Our first year had us vacillating between living the “gee whiz” role of Gomer Pyle and the knee-jerking reactions of up-tight Barney Fife. Now, I feel we have attained the more relaxed confidence of the program’s sheriff, Andy Taylor.
Had we given up when the surf was rough we might have become sour in our attitudes. As it is we are happy adventurers who have grown in their perspective of the world. I think happiness  is the ultimate life goal.  
 
I invite you to share the adventure by reading the award winning book that came from the experience:

http://www.amazon.com/GRINGOS-PARADISE-Our-Honduras-Odyssey/dp/1419657526/

And follow the ongoing adventures on Face Book.

 https://www.facebook.com/Gringos.n.Paradise?ref=hl

photos of El Porvenir beach and the tarot card Fool from my private collection

Are You Headed In the Right Direction?

The question asked of most children is: ‘what do you want to be when you grow up?’ Most of us have no idea unless we have been coached. We assume we will be adults. Add pressure from our culture for individual achievement and the more confusion grows. In the 3 dimensional world there are signs along the roadways that warn us if we head in the wrong direction, but indicators as we travel the path of spirit are much more subtle.   

I recently had the privilege to address a class of University students. In the question time after my talk most of the students wanted to know about my becoming a writer: “Did you always want to write?” “How did you decide ..?”  I couldn’t really answer their questions; I could only take them on my journey.                                                           
                                                               
Writing was my mother’s thing. She loved words. Me? I would rather forgo a gift than struggle through writing a thank you note.  Extracting my own teeth had more appeal than sitting in front of paper. As I entered high school I still had no sense of direction.  After school hours were tied up in care-taking four younger brothers for two working parents. There was little opportunity for  influence, nor dreams of anything more than growing up and leaving.

The universe will not allow a void. Without some mental road map, nature will provide your career. Being the mother of 3 was a mix of joy and more of those teeth pulling moments. Thankfully, the joy outweighed the dental threat. It was a need for extra income plus a desire to be more than someone’s sister, wife, or mother that became the catalyst to move me forward. Working exposed me to various career fields and my world began to expand.

Still, writing never crossed my mind. My resume grew with various work experiences. Sometimes I worked for others and occasionally for myself. When the effort seemed more work than pleasure, I moved on. Sometimes I wondered what was wrong with me that I did not stay put. Little did I realize that I was learning and becoming under the influence of spirit.

Like most, the age of forty awakened a desire understand the mysteries of life.  I expanded my education and came to realize that helping others nurtured my soul.  I studied to become a Naturopathic Doctor, later adding a doctorate in Metaphysics. In my dictionary, a doctor is a teacher. That is how I began helping others.  Writing became a tool to expand the circle of helping.

 I never decided to be a writer; I evolved. Those years of stumbling through the wilderness were actually under Divine guidance until I could see the path. There were always signs but my mind could not read them. However, when it was time, I met a literary agent on vacation. She told me, “Keep writing.”  As final re-enforcement of her words, my first two books won literary awards.

If you ever feel lost on your spirit path, stop and  look back. In retrospect, you'll recognize the signs.