Journal Entry: This trip made it real for me, to not only be apart of a group, but to prove to myself, that I can do this, I can travel, and stand on top of a mountain with people who all want to challenge each other with a common goal of getting to a better place.
September 30
Sunday Morning I woke up feeling excitement for the day ahead, knowing that I’ll say goodbye to my friends but excited that I get to spend a little more time with them and look forward to seeing them again.
This is the final in my series of blog posts about my recent trip to Denver. Here’s Part 4.
We met at Denver Union Station and as we gathered with coffee and breakfast, there was a buzz between us. I could feel the energy of fellow travelers, with that excitement for the next trip. Some of these people already had plans to meet up and others were heading back to their hometowns, but we were now connected. After picking up breakfast at the Snooze, I sat down near my friends and we chatted about the plans for the rest of the day. Over the week I had shared my love for yoga and meditation, and how I use oils in my daily practice. As I pulled out my travel bag of oils, one of my friends had mentioned feeling tired, and so I shared some oils that have an energizing quality. She said that she’s been meaning to check out oils. I had also shared some with others in the group who had tried them and enjoyed the benefits of mood enhancements that can be felt from taking deep breaths with essential oils.
Our leaders, Jason and Travis, rallied our group and challenged us to keep connecting and growing our supportive network to keep inspired in travel and being location independent. We began to say our goodbyes, and I was left with trying to figure out what to do for the afternoon. My flight back home was scheduled for 5:50 PM and some in our group had planned to do a hike in Boulder, but I wasn’t sure that I’d have enough time to go.
After talking with Jason, he got excited and said that we would get it figured out and I would still be able to make the flight and do the hike. We shared an Uber and chatted on the way to Boulder. I felt amazing that I had the unique opportunity to ask the questions I’d thought about when I’d listened to Zero to Travel the past few months, we talked and I felt like Jason really listened to me.
It is an amazing feeling when you listen for hours to someone on a podcast and then make it real by meeting and talking with them in person! The first time I experienced this was last year, after listening to The Minimalist podcast and then drove to Pittsburgh to meet them when they kicked off their tour. I had never really understood what people meant by getting so excited when meeting VIPs or celebrities until I started to connect with podcasters and then this year meeting Jason and Travis, I understood a bit about how meeting people in real life makes a stronger bond and connection with someone. We arrived in Boulder and met with others in our group who had decided to do the hike up Mount Sanitas. We chatted and I got to know other people in our group that I hadn’t connected within the past two days of workshops/events with LI members. I had been inspired by how so many of the LI members are super successful but still struggle, and how we all have these challenges that keep us on our toes.
This year has been a deep dive into self-care, self-awareness, and establishing my values. I’ve read books, wrote, and listened to hundreds of hours worth of podcasts talking about how I can build a better relationship with myself and putting myself in my discomfort zone. And this was it, at the top of this mountain, with my new travel tribe, it was here that I discovered my dreams can turn to reality if I do the work and become intentional with my life. Everything in my life has led me to this moment. As I listened to and talked with the LI people while we went up and down this mountain, I knew that my journey into location independence was just starting. So this isn’t the end, but a wonderful beginning to my journey of discovery. I’m excited to take some of the resources, skills, and relationships with me and keep growing and learning.
Writing this a month after I’ve returned home I’m happy to share that I’ve stayed in touch, almost on a daily basis with many of these people. After our trip, some of us did a 22-Day elimination challenge and I choose not to eat refined sugar or drink alcohol because I know that gets in the way of my focus and attention. I was able to make it seven days without indulging in refined sugar, which was a first for me, and I was able to make it the entire 22 days without drinking. I even traveled to New York’s “Wine Country” without sipping one glass of wine. But as time passed, so did my resistance to food. Today I read The Artist Way. I’m working through Week 10, which is titled Recovering a Sense of Self-Protection. This challenges me to address the issues that hold me back in my creativity.
“We begin to sense our real potential and the wide range of possibilities open to us. That scares us. So we all reach out for blocks to slow our growth. If we are honest with ourselves, we all know which blocks are the toxic ones for us.”
For me, that block is food (and sometimes drinking). I’ve too often turned to food when I have painful feelings, doubt, fear, or seeking to distract and divert my attention away from something I need to deal with, and right now I’m learning that my work is here, right now, to be aware and present. So that I can remember what it felt like to stand on top of this mountain and that is what it is to be here now, recognizing those are the moments that matter. No amount of food will replace that feeling of being with my tribe on a mountain in Colorado. I can be present and aware so that I can know that moments like that are possible, for me, today, and every day.
P.S. I made my flight in enough time 🙂
Travel. Hike. Click. Write. 
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