šļøYou canāt run away from yourself - even if youāre sitting on a beach in Kauaiā¦And trust me, I tried.
When I was a kid, summer vacation didnāt mean beaches and fancy hotels. It meant squeezing into a tent in the middle of the Blue Ridge mountainsā¦ in 30-degree weather (in summer!). My sister and I were so cold one night, we climbed into the same sleeping bag just to survive.āļø
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We didnāt have fancy gear, but we had a van (yes one with that stripe down the sideš), a cooler packed with sandwiches, and a sense of adventure. We drove all over the country to see the sights and enjoy.
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And honestly? I wouldnāt have had it any other way. That was the kind of travel my parents gave us; the kind that rooted a deep love of nature and exploration in my bones.
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As I got older, that love for travel stuck with me. I wanted to see the world, learn about other cultures, climb mountain peaks, sit on far away beaches and soak in every ounce of beauty I could find.
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But something changed.
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Somewhere along the way, I realized I wasnāt always traveling toward something. Sometimesā¦ I was trying to escape something.
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I thought sitting on a beach would melt the overthinking.
I thought climbing a mountain would silence the self-doubt.
I thought if I got far enough away, maybe I wouldnāt have to feel the anxiety I couldnāt quite name.
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But hereās what I learned:
šYou canāt escape whatās inside of you.
In fact, when the noise of life quiets down on vacation... sometimes the inner noise gets louder.
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And thatās actually a gift.
Not one I was asking for - but one I needed.
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Because the moment I stopped runningā¦ and started listeningā¦ something shifted.
My anxiety wasnāt trying to ruin my joy. It was asking me to slow down and be with myself.
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Now, when I travel, I still love the thrill of the unknown.
But I also welcome what surfaces because itās showing me whatās ready to heal.
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āØI no longer take trips hoping theyāll fix me.
I take them as a gift to myself.š„°
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To feel the breeze in Costa Rica.
To listen at the howler monkeys in the trees.
To stand on a mountaintop and feel fully present.
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