3 Valuable Lessons Learned From My Beloved Ones {Thank You!}

Hello, my beloved souls!

This time around I've been floating in a state of positivity through the waters of life’s tranquility and abundance. Yes, there were days when I still doubted myself and the ability to make my dreams come true.

Though I had two nights that especially stand out as being lonesome and with a feeling of all consuming despair, everything else seemed to fall into place neatly.

Step by step.

Let me elaborate on these past weeks and share with you what experiences positively impacted my existence, my being, my soul.

#1 Being Open, Honest & Vulnerable

We are told that there is a certain way to live. We all share parts of our lives, the natural ebbs and flows of life, but how we face the consequences of them that is where we differ.

For the most part of my life I was obsessed with curating what people should see in me, should think about me, should associate with me. I wanted to appear as though I had it all figured out, stable, sure and certain about my path, generous and in control, knowing it all and being right were extremely important to my sense of belonging, my sense of validation.

All of this even though I told myself that I did not care what others thought of me.

Deep down I did, and that is absolutely alright and natural. We want to belong, without a pack we would not survive.

I have changed drastically though, because now it is not important what people think of me through actually step by step and consciously acknowledging that I actually care.

From there it was more than a year to come to a place where my perception shifted. I realised that I wasn’t able to monitor what they thought of me anyway. And what I wanted most in the world was to share my contentment with the world, my joy or my sadness. I

W wanted to be me and not play a part in a play anymore.

I wanted to feel truly accepted for who I was and back then, I still could not ever picture a state of mind where I would be able to achieve that goal.

Slowly things progressed as I put in the daily decision to trust that I was as good a person as anyone, that I was safe sharing my authenticity.

Baby steps.

In sharing we genuinely connect, in openness we find solace, in being vulnerable we truly get to know each other.

I took the leap and trusted people.

Being outspoken about my new career choice, my dreams of making it as a digital nomad and continuing this life of traveling and making new experiences, sharing my financial struggles and how I mentally handled them, is one of the most challenging things I could do.

Especially since I am terrified of never accomplishing any of it.

Imagine I failed? Would people see in my failure that I genuinely was a scam of a person as well. A loser, someone forgettable without any value- emotions I struggled with my entire life and to this day continue to plague me at times.

Thus it has been the most freeing and inspiring approach I have encountered in my 33 years on this Earth.

Actively listening to other people’s stories, the hardships they faced and how they approached the situation. Giving thanks and being emotionally generous opened doors to hearts and souls. Not one of these conversations gave me a feeling of pressure or any kind of doubt that however life would play itself out for me, it will be alright. And they would have my back, they would understand, they would be there.

It was absolutely eye-opening.

I believe, even though all of them were friends before, throughout these past two months these relationships reached a depth that is awe-inspiring.

A big thank you to all of you out there, you know who you are- and if not, this is for you: A great big chunk of gratitude in moving pictures [minute 7:01]!

People are good and I feel blessed to being able to witness it with such an intensity as in the past couple of months.

#2 Being Generous, Courageous & Kind

Etiquette- that is something I was given to by my parents and society. Ordinary, respectful things like not starting a meal until everyone is seated and together. Or overrated things like wearing shoes literally all the time, even at home. Also: Bringing a gift whenever you are invited to a gathering. Deep engraved within my being is this subtle but heartfelt sign of gratitude and thoughtfulness. Either a beverage to share, self made edibles (a dessert maybe or bread, jam or self-picked fresh fruits or vegetables)- anything to bring with me to a host to visually acknowledge my gratitude for them, wanting to spend their time with me.

Now, due to my non existent own four walls and due to my financially precarious situation, I ended up not being able to take something with me whenever I was invited somewhere. And I was couch surfing my way through the last two months, so this really cost me a lot of courage to first of all accept and second of all talk about it with said hosts.

I opened up and expressed what I felt had to be said. And let me tell you, what I discovered blew my mind:

I was enough.

My company was described as inspirational, generous and indeed very enjoyable. With or without a gift.

This may seem strange to your ears, for me though I had this innate accountant keeping balance on material goods, making sure that I never EVER be indebted to anyone. Upon hearing that it was me and not a gift they appreciated, I suddenly felt home. Safe. Loved. Appreciated. Freed from the accountant in my head.

And this opened up new ways of showing my love for them and as a matter of fact to strangers as well- by helping them in whatever way they really needed support. Building something together for their farmstead, kickstarting a project they wanted to do for a very long time but never got started on, lending a hand wherever their need lay, like harvesting or cleaning or looking after a pet or their child. Actually taking action and showing with my deeds how much they mean to me.

Ultimately this epiphany led to me being even more open and trusting towards people, known or random strangers on the street. I feel so empowered within my way of shining my light, so strengthened in the mindset that I want to bring love and kindness to the world. I want to make them feel comfortable, seen and heard, appreciated.

This shift only was possible because of my rise in confidence about myself, the plunge I took in being open about my perception of the world and the wonderful people in my life that made me feel good and valid.

Courage and kindness. So I take the plunge and share my core essence of love, at least once a day, consciously. A smile for the cashier, a compliment to a stranger on the street, active and genuine listening to everything a friend wants to share, collecting waste from nature whenever I see it, greeting a passer-by on a walk, helping someone with their grocery bags…. Whatever opportunity life presents, I want to take this chance and be of service, I believe that being of service truly is the cure to depression and feeling isolated. A random act of kindness.

Because without this humility, without this wholesome approach of connection, wouldn’t life be miserable? Isn’t love what we all crave?

Isn’t love what makes us soulful beings?

#3 One Day or Day One

A new chapter started now. I moved into an apartment very similar to the one I had prior to my travels. It will be a room of my own for the next two months.

I am in love with it.

And I made a conscious choice to wholeheartedly take full advantage of this opportunity that presented itself. I set myself daily goals that I write down in my notebook to keep track of my progress and also make sure that I stick to the promises I give myself. My daily routine probably will become an entirely different Vlog because I found these things healing and their impact powerful, so I probably, maybe want to share them.

Reason to approach this new chapter after two months of chosen chaos is this: Yes, I was constantly working toward my goal of becoming a digital nomad. But making my living online, especially starting out as a newbie takes a lot of effort and time. And I know I did what I could, but my focus whenever I engrossed someone’s couch, primarily lay on spending quality time with that person, or this family, or the dogs or the children.

I immersed myself into their world and my own world stood waiting until I arrived somewhere new, did my duties and dove into a different energetic situation. That said, this time and space truly was enriched with joy and bliss, kindness and love, a fresh breath of new possibilities and the exhilarating freedom of letting go, trusting life and the universe.

Now it is time for a new chapter.

A chapter that is dedicated to a room of my own. A room to focus on the projects I already started and kickstart all the projects that I never gave the space to being able to come into existence. A room that enables me, within a split second, directly catch a creative outlet and bring it to the notebook or desktop. A room with so much potential of healing, reflection, motivation.

A room of my own. I love that.

For a while at least.

You know me, being out and about, on the road, at least in this specific phase of my life, is what exhilarates me beyond measurement.

And also coming home to my Marjorie drives me forward. Creating the life I envision for me and her, never having to part again.

Which brings me back to the thread of point three: It is our decisions how we want our life to look like. Do we want to buy a specific thing, do we want to be more open, do we want to form deeper connections, do we want to travel?

In each and every case it is up to you and no outer circumstance dictates what you can accomplish. Yes, the consequences might be looming over you, threatening and unforeseeable. Yet, assemble yourself. Stand by yourself. Do it because of your inner wish to thrive and grow and get there. Every single day, every single hour you decide what kind of person you are. Choose wisely, choose because it is your passion and love and curse and drive.

So- beloved souls, this is it. The last two months gone by in a flurry if excitement. May and June already past and gone. Now I hope you feel as good as I do about these next two months of summer bliss!

Sending you, from my heart to yours, all the love in the world and thank you so very much for watching and supporting me!

Love and light,

Nadine