Vacations make you feel that way – the uninhibited, nonobligatory state of being that removes the mental and physical barriers of the life known at home. There’s an energy that emerges from the depths as we travel. Nomadic, with little more than a suitcase to weigh us down. In these moments, rare as they may be, we let go of so much and allow our minds to be still. Gathering of space and opening of channels within that bring the outside world to life: the symphony of birds, the colors of the palm trees, the electric warmth of the thunderstorms.

Wrapped up in our routine activities for 80% of our year, the rest of the world and its routine, isn’t our main focus. We see, but what are we looking at? We hear, yet are we really listening? The seasons change, the summer comes, and our thoughts continue to cycle through the bills we have to pay, the repairs we have to make, the appointments we must attend to. Meanwhile, the monarchs float gently by on the early morning breezes. The jacarunda tree blooms in exploding purples. The hummingbirds whisper and flit, dancing with the leaves while hiding from the noon-day sun.

While life outside of my reality continues on without me, I aspire to make more time for freedom each day. The ocean brings new warmth and new waves. The moon shifts in her phases. The colors of the evening sky pop and glow with each breath. Even though there are things I must attend to, there is freshness in my perspective and the way that I go about showing up. I chose this life, I chose this adventure.

I choose to live in a space of quality over quantity. I am happiest with a closet of tired clothes and one set of clean sheets. I spend time with the birds in the morning, listening to them chirp, watching them glide with the winds. Fortunate to have all I do, I choose to give more and take less. Create instead of consume.  Open up energetically to what every day can bring and my attitude towards all circumstances.

There are no excuses for not living the life I want to live and therefore, I choose to be free all the time.