Day 6: Wednesday June 13, 2012/Thursday
June 14, 2012
I am in transit. Brasil - Canada.
This one is a no brainer for me.
Today I went back to EARJ (American School
of Rio de Janeiro) and tromped around my old stomping grounds. It was one year ago that I left work,
and took “a year off.” (Whatever
that meant, I am not too sure). At
this point last year, I was crafting a letter to my friends and family with the
subject line “I bought a house.”
One year later. The house is for sale.
Today I am very thankful for opportunity.
Yesterday I was packing my bags, and
separating them into three piles.
Pile one: to take back to Mexico; Pile 2: to leave in Canada; and Pile
3: to give away. The last pile was
by far, the biggest. Sara came to rescue
me as my movers pulled a “no show.”
While we waited for her people to come and give her an estimate for her
upcoming move to Montgomery, Alabama, we reminisced.
Opportunity knocks. Sometimes it comes barging in when you
least expect it, and other times it is a subtle tap that you can barely hear. But opportunity knocks ALL the time.
As a teacher, my “year” starts in August,
and ends in June (the typical international school year) and then there is the
bonus, summer.
I didn’t work this year and although my
bank statement is an obtrusive red, opportunity knocked, and I answered.
Here is a short list of the year in review.
- I spent the
summer on 2011 in Canada frolicking with friends and family.
- In August I
completed my Level I Baptiste teacher training in the Catskills, New York.
- When I got back
to Rio in mid-August, I was able to teach the teachers at EARJ yoga classes.
- I managed to
secure some private students to pay the bills between August-November
- In September I
flew (on air miles) to Denver for the Yoga Journal Conference with my niece
Leah. It was so nice to connect
with family while at the same time, to feel inspired.
- I trained for
one month (November) with Fox (a
triathlon cub in Rio) in an effort to overcome my fear of open water
swimming. It reduced
significantly.
- I was able to
stay with Joao in Rio instead of in Taquara where my house was. It turned out that the commute would be
hours each way. (Sometimes packed in a van with 25 people). Not cool.
- Joao and I had
what you would call a “practice relationship” as I knew I was leaving for South
East Asia in December.
- I picked up
another private lesson that I would trade for stand up paddle lessons. We only did a few classes, but this
opened my eyes to the barter-system; a trade that has been around long before
monetary trade.
- In November I
met my sister Caroline in Cozumel to race the Ironman
- I met Ricardo at
the finish
- I got a job in
Mexico City with and August start
- My 3-month trip
to South-East Asia was ousted and I moved to Mexico on December 18, 2011.
- I found more private
students in Mexico City and rented my own little space.
- Ricardo’s
triathlon business had just launched and I got to work with him. This fuelled my creative side and he
never put a cap on where I could help him generate.
- In March, I went
to Canada to help my sister out.
She generously helped pick up the tab. My friends helped me work out my fashion fiasco (I rocked up
in Mexico with a Brazilian wardrobe) and sent me back with two bags of clothes.
Score.
- Later in the
month, my great friend Kirsten got married in Nicaragua. She generously helped pick up the
tab. I went to Nicaragua.
- In May I flew to
Tulum, Mexico to complete my Level II Baptiste teacher training course.
- In May, I went
back to Brazil to race the Ironman in Florianopolis. I stayed with my friend
Karina and shared breakfasts, lunches, laughs, advice, and many wonderful dinners.
- I packed up the
rest of my “things” and I am now sitting in the airport ready to go home. Smile. One bike, one box and two suitcases. I will leave some things in Canada this time.
A lot of people look at my life and say, “I
wish I could travel like you, but ...” Stop reading if you honesty believe you can’t.
Good.
Then you believe in you.
I am not talking about travelling the world
and living abroad here. I am simply
using my life as a metaphor. I am
about taking yourself from mediocre and into great, from comfort-to-challenge. I am talking about taking advantage of
opportunities that are at your fingertips every single second. Your brain is you greatest friend but at
the same time, its also your secret foe.
It sustains your life while quite quietly sabotages your greatness. There is a poster I love. It says, “she turned her can’ts into
cans and her dreams into plans.” Several
people say to me, “I can’t ___(fill in the blank)___because I have kids …” Now, I don’t pretend to know (as I
don’t have any of my own), but, I have been teaching international kids for 10
years; and they come from all walks of life. I am of the mind that having kids enriches your experiences;
or that it could, if you turn your can’ts into cans.
Opportunity is knocking, and you may think that
it comes from the out there.
knock, knock, knock.
But this isn’t always so. It often comes from within. What is it that you really want? What would you do if you knew you
wouldn’t fail and what’s stopping you from turning your dreams into plans? Dearest reader, the “right time” DOES
NOT exist. I know of this “waiting
for the right time” related procrastination from personal experience. I constantly catch my self in the “when
_____, I will ____” game. Now is
as good a time as any, and probability is, it’s NOT going to work out how you
imagined it. How predictable and
lack-lustre that would be if it did.
So yes, today I am thankful for opportunity. I suppose opportunity is quasi-married
to freedom right? Today I am thankful for the event that cracked my inhibitions
and let me soar; I think it may have been when my mom said, “why not get off
the plane in Tokyo and stay in Japan for a year?” On November 26, 1999, I decided to take a little walk. By no means was this the “safe” choice protecting
my comfort and predictability, but that’s not the life I wanted.
What’s potent here is that we have the
freedom to choose, day in and day out.
Here is an equation for you to consider:
Opportunity – Action = A missed opportunity
Opportunity + Action = A BIG bad-ass life
What obstacles do you need to overcome to live the life of your dreams? What's stopping you right now from removing them?
Life isn't happening to you. Life is responding to
you. ~Rhonda Byrne
