Welcome back Gallivanters!

We talk a lot about our adventures and dreams here on the blog.

I am so grateful to say that almost all of my dreams have come true.

I graduated with my master’s degree, have wonderful friends, I’m financially independent – all while getting to travel the world.

I have lived well. But I don’t think I have lived in peace.

A lot of my life has been in strained effort to achieve these dreams, I’ve never been afraid of hard work.

But I think a part of me is afraid of what comes after all that effort.

The high that comes with achievement is great, but fleeting. So I feel like I am always setting new goals to conquer.

I’ve talked about having a word of the year, and my word of the year changed about halfway through. I had chosen “actualization” which would signify me bringing my dreams into my reality. But now, it’s “contentment” finding peace in what I have already achieved and created in the hope of finding peace.

Side note: I think I am the worst person who has ever tried meditation or even just trying to sit still for a minute.

You know what has helped? Church and Yoga.

First, I grew up regularly attending a southern baptist church. It was great, but if I’m being honest the importance of having faith like that didn’t hit me until my early 20’s.

Recently, instead of looking at going to church and praying as another item on my itinerary to check off or something to feel guilty about not doing, I started to try and open myself up to receiving the message and letting the Lord be my peace.

Around the same time, I started regularly attending a yoga class at my gym.

The yoga I’m used to is light stretching and a quick “namaste” before running out the door for work.

“Power yoga” is a little bit more amped up, I think because it is meant to be a rigorous exercise.

The motions are fluid, but quick. And I end up doing more pushups than you can imagine.

Before I know it, I am in a meditative state of sorts during the workout because the motions become instinctive and I can get out of my head and into my body.

At the end, the instructor guides us into a 10 minute savasana.

I used to spend Sunday sleeping in late and rotting in bed – which I still do on occasion. But lately, my routine has been church in the morning and my yoga class in the mid afternoon. And it has done wonders for my mental health.

The moral of this story is that as much as I love being a self-proclaimed gallivanter, you can’t forget to look for contentment within.

Til next time,

-Allison