When I was living in my old environment, I felt stuck to some degree because things became stagnant. Hence, my trip to Europe changed the dynamics fundamentally. I’m eternally grateful for that experience.
Why I changed my environment:
Sometimes when you feel stagnant, confused or depressed, you should totally change your environment. This can be a very enlightening experience for you, too. Trust me.
Tosha Silver wrote a book called Outrageous Openness in which she talks about the importance of surrender – in order to let old stories go, we must surrender first. That’s why changing my environment and going to Europe gave me the opportunity to let my old story go – I embraced the new path.
Even if people don’t understand me and I look strange or mysterious in their eyes, I’m completely okay with that. It’s not about what others think of me; it’s all about how I interpret what they think of me. As a matter of fact, most people are probably not even thinking about me at all because everyone is thinking about themselves and their own problems.
When I was living in Europe, I felt lonely in a good way. Let me explain.
Because nobody knows me in Europe, the entire trip was very liberating. I could be whoever I wanted to be; I could reinvent myself; I could be totally free.
I read a book called The Alter Ego Effect (written by Todd Herman) a while ago. In this book, the author introduces a new concept which is tremendously helpful: the best alter ego is the one I have the deepest emotional connection with – emotional connection trumps everything. I can choose to be the person that I want to be. I can breathe life into my alter ego.
I love Ukraine.
Ukrainian travel is great for changing perspective because this culture is so different from mainstream western culture that we are used to in our daily life. Having said that, it’s not always necessary to travel every year – sometimes in your daily life, the difference of a moment or the difference of a day can make all the difference.
If you are going through a time of challenge or a period of growth in disguise, you might finally feel a drop of hope in your heart again while traveling in Eastern Europe. The physical changes might seem slow, yet that one day or one moment, where the drop of hope returns, is when everything begins to change.
When you change your environment, sometimes the changes can be dramatic & you’re reminded of how fast life is able to change, just what a positive and important difference a day or a moment can make.
Living in Ukraine, I’ve experienced these special moments for many times, e.g. a rainy night in the summer, an interesting conversation with a new friend, a silver necklace that I found in the flea market, etc. Times like this happen to everyone. It truly saves lots of time and energy in trying to always work things out. By traveling to Ukraine, you simply wake up as a new person, someone with a happier mind and a bounce in your step again.
Sleep is a spiritual practice which can offer us rejuvenation, change and renewal. This moment contains all moments.
Dropping the ego and accepting that everyone makes mistakes is a true blessing. Who was right or wrong is not very important if you know what I mean.
My neighbor’s daughter is 4 years old. She stays fully present and allows goodness to flow her way. I am always amazed by the trust she has in each day. That was once my natural state as well, long before the ego and the mind developed false fears which got in my way.
During my trip to Ukraine, I’ve tried reading, writing, comedy, music, sculpting, cooking and drawing. Although what I’ve done won’t appear in a gallery or Hollywood, I’ve thoroughly enjoyed this process. Sometimes the most therapeutic activity is simply lying in bed and daydreaming on a rainy and windy afternoon – it is said that the human brain can’t tell the difference between what’s real and what’s imagined, so daydreaming is a very healthy activity – by imagining some beautiful experiences in my brain, I’m feeding my brain positive energy, thereby becoming a happier person! And this activity is totally free.
“In this day and age, it takes courage to let things go and not everyone has the bravery to allow themselves time to play or do nothing without any guilt. While living in Ukraine, I’ve cultivated a new hobby – I sometimes do nothing, and then rest afterward!”
