Life With Gusto

Woo-hoo! I've been in Portugal for four days (five, by the time you receive this) and it's been fantastic! I've thought about visiting for many years, especially since I speak Portuguese, yet I never followed through. Well, better late than never! While I've often created adventures, the last four years have really been my time to up my travel. The two most important words in that sentence are my time. I love to travel. Some people agree with me and others would rather do something else. We all have our longings and desires and none are less or greater than another's. However, there is no way that another person can do what we want to do and have us feeling satisfied any more than I can try to live out someone else's dream.

When we are children, our parents usually have great hopes for us and we often try to fulfill them. Sometimes we don't even think about what we want to do. We might feel a certain amount of unease or discomfort and we might not enjoy the direction we've taken, but we accepted the idea that this was what we had to do. I'm a mother and I know how hard it is to simply be there for my kids and not tell them what to do. I love Abraham Hicks (www.abraham-hicks.com) and these are two quotes that I try to remember:

""What your children will benefit from most from you is if they can begin to see the same freedom-seeking being in you that they feel in themselves."

"You can't create in the lives of your children, they create their own reality,

but when you worry on their behalf and you activate negative

things in your vibration that have to do with them, then

it's more likely for those negative things to be activated in them

and then, it's more likely for them to attract those negative

things into their experience."

We can't live our children's or friends' or siblings' or anyone else's life except our own. Once we truly understand that it's important to embrace it and do it with gusto and style.

"Whatever is worth doing at all is worth doing well."

Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield

To that end, let me tell you a little about this trip I'm on...

Since Portugal is a relatively small country, I decided to spend three weeks here and travel around as much as I can
I'm renting a car next week and driving north from Lisbon with my final destination in Porto (where Port wine is produced exclusively in the Douro Valley)
I'm heading south this week, with a small tour, to Evora for sightseeing and olive oil tasting
Every day that I'm in Lisbon, I wander around for at least an hour, getting to know different parts of the city. I had NO idea how many steep hills there would be and even though everyone talks about the "seven hills of Lisbon", there are actually eight!
I'm delighted by the unexpected, all the time, like seeing a woman driving a Vespa, wearing gold, high-heeled sandals (up and down those aforementioned, extreme hills!)

This is something that excites me and turns me on. I hope you can get in touch with what thrills you and then, find a way to indulge your yearning or aspiration. Remember to add flair and take it to the max! This is what I wish for you.

A side note: I often travel solo and I love it. This trip I decided to join a new group of women entrepreneurs. The plan is to spend a month in local apartments, which two or three of us share and to also find space where we could take care of business (like writing my blogette!). It's a great concept and if you'd like to learn more, check out www.adventurouslife.io

And, speaking of going away with a group of women, I'm doing the research to offer a retreat or two in the not-so-distant future. I'd love it if you'd please get in touch with me if you have any desires of your own regarding an R&R retreat.