Day 1,110 – Finding Joy in the Journey – Tuesday – 11/17/2020
A Very Special Gift
I received a very special gift in the package in mail from my Aunt Peg and Uncle Ed. Inside was one of my Grandma Dorothea’s bells. It touched my heart they would send me this bell so unexpectedly. I will cherish it as the beautiful gift it is that connects me to my family and to my past. I feel blessed in so many ways. Thank you, Uncle Ed, and Aunt Peg, for this gift.
I remember the day I learned of my grandmother’s death in early January 2005. It was a brand-new year, and I was miserable in my life. I remember waking up every day and complaining about my job and my life. In her death, I sensed I needed a rebirth in my own life. I decided staying stuck and complaining about my life was no way to live.
I started looking for a new job immediately. It was at this point the entrepreneur in me was reborn. The decision to stop being miserable and staying stuck led me to a different corporate job later that year that would ultimately make me realize that I truly was searching for was my freedom. It was the lack of freedom, I felt in my own life, that make me feel stuck and miserable. I didn’t know at that point where my life would lead. Though I did know I needed to make a change.
The first step may not lead exactly where you think it will lead though it’s in taking action that you begin your path to freedom and moving from being stuck to unstuck. May this bell always remind me of my grandmother and that life is meant to be lived and enjoyed.
About “Finding Joy”
And I’m off…. the 16-day adventure begins. The timing of this trip is interesting so I’m naming it “Finding Joy in the Journey.” I’ll be doing one dedicated post each day (at the end of the day or next morning). Since I typically post more than once a day, you’ll find it as a black and white photo. I’ll share the joy of the journey (on the trip or through this season), where I’m finding it and what I’m learning. I hope to inspire myself along the way. And if I can inspire others too, that would be a gift. So let the journey begin…
It was November 2017 and I was ready to head off on a sixteen-day trip. Nine days before leaving, my mom unexpectedly passed away from a heart attack. It shook me to my core. I had always been told the 40’s are the best years of your life. And in a matter of three years, since turning the age of 40, I had gone through a divorce and lost both parents.
I contemplated canceling the trip though I knew my mom would not be happy with that decision. She would want me to continue living my life. My parents did not raise me to sit back and watch life; instead to fully participate in every moment. So I promised my parents to find joy in the journey everyday on my sixteen-day trip and share my experience with others.
Little did I know what “Finding the Joy in the Journey” would turn into when I acted on the prompting to share my experience on a daily basis. It helped me see life differently and my wish is that it will inspire others find joy in their journey.
