https://dailypost.wordpress.com/discover-challenges/radical-authenticity/
I moved to Colombia to find myself, and I did. I felt stuck in circumstances that were harmful to me at the time of my decision to move. We always have choices. I had an ex-husband stalking my every move, and fallout from a bitter divorce. Then I realized I didn’t need to live the way I was living. I could find a better way. So I did. You can too. No need to allow anyone or anything to control your life choices. End of story. I am proof that another way to live is possible and just around the corner if you keep your options open.
What I thought about when I wasn’t searching for an answer to my life situation was unpleasant. I was wracked with anxiety about the future. My healthcare, my home which was being foreclosed on because of vengeful ex, my animals, my life in general. I needed to find a way to survive the madness of a time in my life that was my worst nightmare. With my decision to move to a new country came a freedom I doubt many people have. I live authentically. I don’t care what anyone thinks of me, I don’t watch posts on Facebook as they are never the real story. I just look outside my window as the hummingbirds fly around me for validation.
So how did I come to this place in my life? I will admit when my daughter was murdered by a drunk driver in the middle of that horrific divorce, I hit rock bottom. But still I got up and got going again, because that is who I am. I am not a person who is sedentary. I am an action person to the maximum I can be. I remember walking into my Pilates class a week after my daughter was killed while my friends and classmates looked shocked to see me. I had to go on. It is a choice one must make no matter your circumstance. You can choose to be sad and depressed or live your life. I decided to live. I am not happy all the time, no one can be. We have a life to live and with that life comes reality.
A life that may appear wonderful to others, can fall apart in a second! Too many people live their lives to impress others. I have learned I don’t need to do that. I live my life for myself only. I am a free spirit. I am an eagle in flight flowing through my current life with knowledge I didn’t have previously. I am a person who is alone, but yet very connected to others. I am happy to the best of my ability. No matter how many times I have erred in my life I am way ahead of those who do nothing to change their circumstances.
Even when you make mistakes during a turbulent time you can stand strong. How you react to happenings in your life is a definition of whom you are. I have discovered that being alone is often better than being around people who mean nothing to me but a night out. I love my alone time. I study Spanish, I write, I watch nature around me, I hike, I enjoy my animals, I appreciate my home and the views I see that would never have happened if I was still in the United States. If you really want change you will find a way. You will live your authentic life. I have done it. I will never say it is perfect. It is not. There is NO such thing as perfect. It is a myth. But there is such a thing as living authentically. I have found it.
Michelle, You are an admirable human being giving an example to all of us we can survive the good, and the bad depending how strong you are. Your are a pillar to many, and proof is we do of our lives what we want to make out of it. Thank you for sharing your vision and experience and may the Lord continue giving the guidance you and us need.
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Love you Olga. xoxo
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What a wonderful story of triumph.We, too, are learning to understand the pulls of nature, and to stop fighting intuition. We recently chose to give ourselves and our young children a chance for a different kind of life. We have been in Ecuador for 8 months now. Life is beautiful, but it is also exhausting, terrifying, and sometimes confusing. Some days feel like a fantasy, and others like a nightmare. The change has not been easy, but has certainly been worth it.Every day is step further into the journey of how we dream our life should be.
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Thank you. I have really come a long way from a horrific past. I so understand your struggles. I say the same often. I still would choose this over my past life any day. I hope we can become friends. I would love to visit you and have you visit me. My email is migelita555@gmail.com. Contact me. So nice to know you. Michele
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