Noelle m.

This year in the month of May, a ship set sail to find new horizons – a birth of freedom in the search of the unknown.

It came as a surprise that someone like myself, a person who would rather explore in their own imagination than to explore the world, departed from familiar soil to witness the vastness of the world.

As I’m here in the midst of it all on a rainy day in Croatia, it occurred to me that I may no longer be desiring the life I once envisioned for myself.

Travelling from country to country and experiencing the difference of nature, language, culture and livelihood, I saw the power of letting go of my preconceived beliefs of the world.

Previously on a month-long pilgrimage in Europe in 2016, my parents afforded me to see Italy, Poland and Czech Republic. However, seeing the landscapes of London, Brussels, Netherlands, Germany, Austria, Slovenia and Croatia (with more to come) as a woman in my 20s, it is apparent to me that maturity comes with a different kind of appreciation.

I am stunned to learn this time around that there are constraints, imaginary and real, that hold people back from experiencing a new life elsewhere – one that may be better for their emotional, physical and spiritual health and wellbeing.

I find myself relating to that because home is where love can be traced, rather than in a foreign country where you have no one at all. In a practical sense, of course this is sensible.

To depart from one’s family, whom you vow in the depths of your heart, the tremendous responsibility to care for them at the expense of your own freedom; this is indeed a noble reason to stay at one’s roots. I don’t intend to say that one has to abandon their family.

It goes without saying, flying to the other side of the world or moving to another country will allow a person to gain new liberties and experiences. Whether or not these are valuable depends on the individual.

In my unique perspective thus far, I am appreciating more so who I am as a person with all my quirkiness, and the voice that only I can contribute to the world. I am gaining a deeper sense of responsibility for my decisions, especially with decisions pertaining to my career, livelihood and relationships.

More importantly, I am desiring a life so different to the one I once imagined, which is a necessary but hard process of letting go.

May the ship set sail with the acceptance that only you can guide where it is headed.