So, as usual I’ll pen down a few birthday reflections. This time, I type away seated at a beautiful location in Guatemala. As you know from previous posts you cared to skim through, I am a thrifty traveler. The hostels in this side of the world had it in for me with the beauty they behold. I can only wonder what luxury travelers experience. The hostel name is Boatique Hotel and Marina (definitely worth coming back to). Perfectly isolated and surrounded by water. The sign post is just above my head. The sun is setting on the day I was born and my 29th lap of life begins. The way I would summarize this day right from yesterday would be rediscovering love.
There are versions of me I like keeping to myself because it makes hanging out with myself so much fun. It makes those conversations intriguing and when I tell you I got lost in my brain, I mean it because sometimes it takes a while for me to catch up with me lol. I have had quite patchy sessions of that this time. I have realized that love comes in very many different faces. I have discovered that even bonds formed over 2months deserve that chance. I have discovered that we all harbor pain in us - pain so overwhelming for empaths like myself. Yesterday I kept crying out to God bargaining that He leave us deal with poverty if only HE could eliminate all the healthcare challenges we battle with.
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| 5 am shot - drive from Guatemala City to Rio Dulce |
Oh well, we will do what we can do as humans and hope it all works out. We will brave the painful phases and learn from them. We hopefully choose love through it all.
I tried to form a word cloud with 29 names of humans that specifically made this day meaningful - either through an act of service / kindness (my love language), through their presence, fun messages, calls, through a super personalized message or through something profound they said. This is a mix of people I have met from school, some I have known my entire existence and some that I met for a few minutes on my birthday. Goes to show what a wonderful world we live in. I didn’t get to talk to my little bro and Dad so they missed a mention on the list but oh I know they love me lots and I do too.
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| Love lives here |
A sincere heartfelt gratitude to these humans who form the backdrop of the few lessons on love that will follow. This list is in no way exhaustive and just getting started…I didn’t know they would get to 29 and I received my last wish a few minutes before I began typing lol. So late comers, trust me your belated wishes will be well received - as long they come bearing gifts lol.
Here we go…
You can never run away from love!
Love is tender.
Love knows no language barrier.
Love is loud because when truly found, it can’t keep silent.
Love knows not race.
Love makes sacrifices but doesn’t pamper.
Love reaches out. It’s inclusive and involving. Love is collaboration.
Love thrives in solitude as much as it glows when shared with multitudes.
Love doesn’t wait for a window of opportunity, it just sprouts even in the harshest conditions!
Love begins with a simple, where are you from? In my case, it rolled into a lengthy ethereal chat with one solo sailor called Taylor - by God, there are interesting humans on earth, all you need to do is pack a backpack, then go out to meet them.
Love is being in the present moment.
Love has no control over how those that love you choose to express it.
Love respects boundaries.
Love is musical.
Love is natural, built into our DNA similar to how nature exists.
Love is no secret to be kept!
So the pledge I made to the friends I managed to catch up with today is to live love daily. To express love in a way that acknowledges we all have a fair share of tough stories we sometimes choose not to share. To love in a way that can hug all those troubles away even for a minute. To love in a way that makes life bearable for those around me.
Nature elements of love that have been pronounced the most throughout this trip would be: Water, vegetation, hilly landscapes and probably bugs lol.
Now I will go off to enjoy the sound of silent night (after a good dose of bug spray) and hopefully meet some Garifunas tomorrow. I pray beyond the love God channels to you through me, that you all get a direct dose from HIM.
Oh I will also share some pieces that kept me company today. I realized that we can never run out of firsts if we choose to truly live. Beyond a first experience of traveling to a non-English speaking country, I had a first experience of playing around with ways to make music interesting. I created three 29 mins playlists so that when I am 58 and 87, can listen to all three again and see how I feel about 29year old Dolly lol so hope I get to those ages. Lmk if there are pieces that resonate.
I will end with a happy birthday Dolly Michira, so proud of the woman you morph into each year! Keep finding space for you. Now go off into the world for yet another year, please meet as many people as you can, love them and truly know them! From me with all the self love you deserve! :)
Love you all endlessly, D