Risking it All to Build a New Reality

Dec 13

Words for the Wanderer

The other day I had this sudden realization that I haven’t cried in almost a year. I used to cry at least once a week, feelings of unfulfillment left me feeling anxious and out of alignment. I felt so stuck and incapable of doing what it would take to make a change, fear of the unknown paralyzing me. There was a lot that was going well in our life, and it just felt so risky to blow it all up.

But I couldn’t let it go, and I finally came to a point where it was more painful to know we weren’t living the lifestyle we were meant for than it was to face the fear and pull the trigger.

It has been almost exactly 1 year since we sold our house and set out on our adventure. Back to visit family, this week we rolled into Oklahoma, our shiny home on wheels in tow, a different version of ourselves than we were before.

It’s a strange feeling because everything feels so familiar, but our new reality doesn’t fit with our past. Having seen so many corners of the country that we’d never experienced before, gotten up close and personal with the most awe-inspiring parts of nature, and let go of everything we knew to discover a whole different way of life, it’s confusing to enter back into the matrix we were in before. I feel like a puzzle piece that just doesn’t quite fit. Like I’m in an alternate reality.

The funny thing is though - I felt like that before. For the longest time, I had this unsettling itch that told me we were out of alignment, that we weren’t where we were supposed to be. Breaking out of the mold we’d settled into was both the hardest thing I’ve ever done, but also the most freeing. When I think back over our year, I don’t just remember the places we’ve been, the people we’ve met and the beauty we’ve seen. I think most of how we’ve grown and changed, both together and as individuals.

Breaking out of our box has freed us up to think in ways we hadn’t thought before. It has allowed us to fully stretch out, and melt into the truest version of ourselves. It’s a life process that has been accelerated by our journey across 16 states and 34 national parks this year, but that I know will forever be ongoing. There’s something comforting about knowing that we’ll never actually arrive, but will always be on the exciting adventure of becoming more and more who we’re designed to be.

It’s not that our life is easy now…it’s actually harder on a lot of levels. But have a deep sense of knowing that we’re on the path we’re meant to be on. Cutting the cord that anchored us before set our life into motion in a way I couldn’t have predicted. It opened up freedom and options for the future that felt so unreachable before. Anything is possible now, and I feel that in my bones. It gives me the energy and courage to face all the challenges that have been opened up as well, and trust me - there are a lot.

The beautiful thing about life is that we all have our own, unique story to write. Our next best chapter involved selling it all and completely turning everything upside down and backward. That’s not necessarily the next best chapter for everyone, but it’s so important to be curious about what it is for you. Do you have that small voice inside saying that you’re meant for something different? Don’t wait another moment, much less another day to start taking tiny steps in that new direction. It takes being willing to question anything and everything and refusing to consider a possibility or idea to be off limits or impossible. The world has changed in a way that we have the potential to create and build the reality we envision in our minds. Ideas that may seem paradoxical in your mind are there for a reason and just might be your next reality.

But a life by design is only possible for those who are willing to risk it all. So, what about you? Are you willing?