Crossing the border into Canada after my Death Valley California road trip was a breeze. A Walgreen’s in Oregon gave me a free drive-through PCR test; it was faster than picking up a burger and fries. Two days later they emailed and said, “Congratulations! You don’t have covid!”
I sailed through the Canadian border, and am home again.
Last week in What if Healing Was This Easy? I shared how quickly I healed after a slip-and-fall when I visited the sea lions on the Oregon Coast. I also said I didn’t want to relive the experience because remembering made me feel worse, not better.
Danielle sent me this in response: “Sometimes you remember not to replay it, but to see how far you’ve come. Thank you for sharing, and take care of yourself.”
I love the idea of remembering the past so you can see how far you’ve come and how much you’ve grown.
You’ve come a long way
One of the benefits of sharing my fears and perspectives on my She Blossoms blogs and videos is the ability to go back and see how far I’ve come. For example, a month ago I shared Going on a Solo Road Trip? 5 Tips for Overcoming Fear & Anxiety When Traveling.
Then, on the road I filmed 5 Tips for Canadians on a Camper Van Road Trip to the U.S..
Simply remembering what I was thinking and how I felt while making those two videos reminds me how far I’ve come—and how little I have to fear! I often forget to cherish and rejoice in how much healing and growth I’ve experienced.
It’s so easy to get trapped in the present “I want…I need…I should…I shouldn’t have…” When we do that, we miss the beauty and joy of the journey. Even the most painful, difficult journeys—like fleeing a war in your home country to start over in a foreign land—carries glimmers of hope, goodness and love.
How far have you come?
You may not have blog posts or videos that remind you how much you’ve learned and grown, but you probably have photos. Maybe you even have old diaries, daytimers, memory boxes or scrapbooks.
Take time to celebrate how far you’ve come. You may be in the most difficult trial of your life, but you’re smarter, stronger, and more resilient than you’ve ever been. Your body, mind and spirit is moving and growing in ways you can’t control or even imagine.
You really have come a long way. Give yourself credit, treasure the distance you’ve traveled, and know that you have all you need to keep going.
Before you go…
When I was in Death Valley, I did something I never did before! I made a video of the 14 Tofino camper van owners who met and shared their vans. I felt insecure and self-conscious, but I just had to do it.
My video — 14 Camper Vans With Open Doors & Popped Tops! A Pleasure-Way Meetup in Death Valley, CA — wasn’t as good as I hoped (the wind was much louder than I realized). But I learned so much, and have a whole new respect for travel videographers and vloggers.
When I watch this video in the future, I’ll marvel at how much I learned and how far I’ve come. 😊
With delight,
Laurie
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