I was flipping through a graphic novel one day when the image of a girl wearing raincoat caught my attention.
It transported me back to the time when I was traveling solo in Vietnam recently.
Raincoat and puddle
I started trekking in Sapa, Vietnam in a rainy morning. Even though I went along the muddy trail with great caution, I accidentally stepped into a deep pool of soft mud that fully immersed both my feet.
In that instant, I felt horrible that all my effort to stay clean had gone wasted. From disgust, speechlessness, and discomfort, I quickly realized the silver lining that came with muddy boots — I was free to step into anything and just have fun!
During my 1 week stay in the village, the rain didn’t stop me from going out to explore the grandeur of valley and rice terrace in a raincoat and wet boots.
I lived in deep gratitude every day mesmerizing the wonder of nature.
I forget to have fun
In the comfort of the city life, rainy day has a lot of negative labels attached to it — I can’t go out, I can’t run in the park, I don’t want to get wet, I don’t want to dirty my shoes…
I am trekking round and round in a concrete jungle, living by many self-imposed restrictions that I wasn’t aware of.
“The desire for more positive experience is itself a negative experience. And, paradoxically, the acceptance of one’s negative experience is itself a positive experience.” — Mark Manson
What is it that won’t let me live my life? What is inside of me that is so afraid that it keeps me from just enjoying life?
This part of me is so busy trying to make sure the next thing goes right that I can’t just be here now and live life.
Let life just be life and have fun
That little image in the graphic novel showed me the contrast between real life and traveling life.
Being a ‘nobody’ in a new place, I had the luxury to leave myself behind and flow with whatever life presents to me in each and every moment.
I learned that it is possible to be open, relax my heart, forgive, laugh, and have fun doing whatever I want.
“What it means to live life is to experience the moment that is passing through you, and then experience the next moment, and then the next.” — Michael A. Singer
In each moment, we hold the power to let life just be life and choose to have fun no matter what happens.
Let’s not sell ourselves short for all the joy we could have in this world.
Hi, I am Isabelle, author of ‘The Art of Owning Your Story’, I write about conscious living and personal growth, building a podcast called ‘Own Your Story’. If you enjoy what you read, please subscribe to get the latest content in your mailbox! Thank you 🙂
