A sunrise illuminated the vast blue ocean, melting into the horizon. Starting out a new decade of life, Brazil welcomed me with open arms and sweet optimism for what the future will hold. Celebrating life in a new place awakened lessons, both new and known. Some of these lessons were laying dormant, others floated in with the fresh sea breeze. All of them, whether flowing through my bloodstream or dancing in my dreams, excite the possibilities of today and tomorrow. All with the simple flavor of enjoying life.

1. Relating to people is how we relate to life. Share a beer, a smile, and a few words, even if the language is foreign.
2. Be courageous. Flowers, though delicate, bravely stand tall and shine their colors to attract love and thrive.
3. It’s okay to take a rest. The midday sun and humidity encourage swims, long breaths, and watching the leaves exchange handshakes with the wind.
4. Beds wouldn’t be made to be so soft if you weren’t supposed to spend long mornings watching the sun crawl across the walls with a cup of coffee in hand and the birds singing their symphony for your personal enjoyment.
5. Heed the challenge. Wild orchids defy gravity, growing on banyan trees, finding the best spaces for sunshine, warmth, and nourishment.
6. Conformity and comparison are the sources of all conflict. You don’t have to use your medical degree in the hospital – shamans providing alternatives are just as necessary to understanding medicinal properties of plants and health.
7. There is satisfaction in simplicity. A big couch, a colorful door, a bar of gardenia soap.
8. Sometimes those bar carts with plastic stools are more fun than the sit down restaurant across the street. Okay…most times.
9. Nature is the best playground. Bare feet running on the beach, jungle adventuring to crawl down cliffs that reach the ocean, and climbing trees for better views.
10. Fresh food tastes better. It just does.
11. Do something because you like doing it, not because you have to. You always have a choice (even if the choice is whether or not to do it happily).
12. Wear what you like because you like it – the style, the design, the colors, the company. You are uniquely you.
13. You never know who you’re going to meet. Start a conversation, engage, connect.
14. It’s always okay to ask for what you want. Kindness is key and acceptance is vital.
15. Let your heart take the lead for awhile. Logic is necessary, but desire makes life much more enjoyable.
16. Play is just as important as productivity.
17. Trust yourself – you know more than you think you do.
18. It’s important to protect what we love. Every action makes a difference.
19. Stop “should”-ing on yourself. See number #11.
20. Learn to receive – you deserve love in all its forms.
21. Believe in magic. There are some plants that don’t even need to grow roots to thrive.
22. Community might be the most important thing for our wellbeing. And community can be those sitting next to you at the local pub, cheering on your soccer team.
23. Take a walk and explore what’s around you. There are hidden gems everywhere.
24. Generous listening is at times better than any other gift.
25. Traveling doesn’t have to be expensive – a fresh coconut on the beach from a local entrepreneur is delightfully satisfying.
26. Keep your head up – in life, out of your phone, trusting in who you are and what you are capable of.
27. You don’t have to understand the words to feel the meaning.
28. At any one moment, there are a thousand things to be grateful for.
29. Mother Nature is our best teacher.
30. Always listen to your heart. It will never guide you wrong.