Inspiration

Jamie’s Gems: Lessons Learned on the Road

 

MNU-ICONS-SHARE

Life is as FUN and as FULL as WE make it!  It’s Never Too Late!  

 

“At times our own “light” goes out & is rekindled by a spark from another person… Who are your rekindlers? Who are you grateful for today?” (Brene Brown) 

We all need a little fun, a little joy, a little excitement in our lives ~ it’s what makes us feel most alive!  As Brene Brown said, sometimes our “light” is dimmed or goes out and needs rekindling by a spark from another person or activity.  Some people find this by skydiving or bungee jumping, while others find it simply through indulging in their favorite activities like dancing, going to the horse races or maybe letting loose and singing a little karaoke.  One of the ways I find mine is through travel adventures with dear friends. I have found that travel experiences and travel encounters have really helped me to evolve as a human being and in many ways helped change my entire outlook on life. 

IMG_2123-1024x1024

I just returned from the most amazing road trip with one of my dearest friends, Nichole.  It was quite possibly one of the best weeks of my entire life and was truly a wonderful reminder that life is as FUN and as FULL as WE make it.  We are in charge!  It’s all about being open and having a positive attitude.  We all have the ability to create fun adventures.  We just have to remember to let our guard down at times, to be silly, to follow our whims and just enjoy wherever they might take us and above all, allow ourselves to be more spontaneous, embracing life as it occurs…suddenly and magically.   I can attest firsthand that the rewards are nothing short of spectacular.  As I sit here writing this article, I can honestly say that I feel more alive than I have felt in a long time.  This trip truly brought me back to life.  It reignited the spark in my heart that so needed rekindling. 

What was truly eye-opening for me was learning that it didn’t have to be an expensive or extravagant trip to ignite my heart and fill the “fun” void.  Originally I was yearning to go somewhere exotic but money and scheduling conflicts prevented a grand vacation.   I could have been disappointed that I wouldn’t be serenaded by a gondolier gliding over Venice’s Grand Canal or soaking up the sun on the sandy beaches of Santorini… but sometimes we have to recalibrate our original goals.

So where did we go?  Somewhere easily accessible and MUCH more affordable, Arizona! Nichole is from Phoenix but I had never been there. And let me just tell you….together we created our own extravagant “Santorini” vacation. If you think of life as an enormous party filled with all sorts of people from all over the world, what special gifts do you bring to the “party?”  Ask yourself this and make sure that you always bring those unique and special qualities with you wherever you go – share them abundantly and leave your mark!  I think my gifts are all about love, positivity, zest for life, silliness and my uber-happy joy-filled heart.  Nichole and I definitely left our mark across the beautiful state of Arizona.

IMG_2444

 

And so, the “Thelma & Louise” road trip was born (named for the 1991 film starring Geena Davis and Susan Sarandon).  Don’t worry, I promise you we aren’t fugitives, no laws were broken during the course of our trip and we definitely didn’t accelerate and drive off the cliff once we reached the north edge of the Grand Canyon 😆 .  We even bought bright orange toy pistols (made of plastic, of course) to complement our little adventure and featured them in most of our vacation photos, which made our trip more fun!

For the long drive, I made a playlist filled with classic songs we loved from the 80’s and 90’s, which we sang at the top of our lungs (and air-guitared, and air-keyboarded). When we reached the Arizona state line, I made Nichole pull off the freeway (probably the only illegal thing “Thelma & Louise” did on our entire journey) and we took silly photos in front of the Welcome to Arizona sign…Why not, right?  People actually honked and waved. 

IMG_2155

 

We stayed in Phoenix with Nichole’s amazing mother, Linda, who I  just love to pieces and adore so much.  Her kind, loving, hospitable nature reminds me so much of my own mother.  It was so great getting to spend time with Nichole’s extended family and see all of her old stomping grounds.  Something very amusing for Nichole was my genuine excitement and fascination with the enormous saguaro cactuses!!!   Holy cow, those things are massive and awesome!  Having never been to Arizona before, this was my first time ever seeing one up close and personal.  Wowee!  It sort of became a running joke as I ran around taking photos with them like a little kid with Mickey Mouse.  Nichole said it was really refreshing for her to see me get so excited over something she took for granted.  I definitely have the heart and enthusiasm of a child.  

IMG_2310

One night after a fun evening out, we stopped on our way home at a little dive bar.  It looked a little sketchy from the outside but inside it was a bright, sunny beach theme. Everyone in the bar was dressed up from a big wedding reception up the street, so we joined in the fun until the bar closed.  I guess that means we can add wedding crashers to our list of adventures on this trip!  Afterwards, we ended up at a drive-thru line for a late night burrito.  While sitting in the long line, I noticed that the people directly in front of us got out and switched seats.  I yelled “Chinese Firedrill” and we quickly jumped out and switched places, too.  We were laughing hysterically at ourselves when one of the guys from that car got out laughing and walked over to our window to introduce himself.  He was so sweet (and might I also add, very handsome).  It turns out he’s a professional mixed martial arts fighter from Brazil who is in Arizona for training.  He speaks only Portuguese so his attempt to communicate with us was quite adorable.  He called us “muito bonita” (very beautiful) and later when we all met up the next night, he said that he felt like meeting me was “destino” (fate, destiny).  *Awwww*    

IMG_2306

This experience is a perfect example of an opportunity that would have been missed, a meeting that might not have happened had we not embraced our free and fun spirits doing the Chinese Firedrill in the drive-thru line at 2am. Embracing life as it occurs, beautifully and magically.  Why not?  Part of living life is being curious and feeding our curiosity.  Some people are so hesitant or fearful about meeting new people while traveling.  For me, it’s one of the greatest parts about it!  We are not alone in this world.  People need people and there are SO many different types of interesting and wonderful folks all over the world.  I love learning different languages, customs and ways of life.  Who knows how this particular encounter will unfold, but either way you slice it, I now have a new friend from Brazil and a newfound curiosity about learning Portuguese! I challenge you to introduce yourself to at least three strangers on your next vacation and find out at least three things about each of them.  This is part of living.  Learn, meet, experience, embrace it all!!! 

Our next stop – the colossal Grand Canyon!   And OF COURSE we had our orange “Thelma & Louise” pistols ready to go.  What an incredible sight to see!!!  After that, we headed to Sedona and our fabulous friend Stephanie Stephens joined us. She has such a fun “anything goes” spirit and zest for living, we started a tradition of raising our glasses and yelling “STEPHANIE STEPHENS” instead of “cheers.”  I truly have to thank her for the gifts that she brought during this road trip. I know I learned a lot from her and I think we could all could benefit from living life her way.  Also, nothing could have prepared me for the majestic beauty that is the red rocks of Sedona, Arizona.  Holy eye candy!!!  I was in awe…I felt like a kid visiting Disneyland for the first time.  It was truly the most glorious, spectacular sight I have ever seen. 

IMG_2709

That evening, we stopped into the only bar we could find that was still open.   It was empty when we walked in, except for a musician setting up to play live music.  The evening could have gone the way of three friends sipping cocktails and chatting at a quiet bar with a guy playing in the background, but we embraced it and created our own fun.  We asked him if we could make song requests and started dancing and singing our little hearts out.  Evenutally, he gave us his microphone and we sang along with him for the rest of the evening.  The bartender joined in, and passersby heard the noise until one by one more people were coming in to our empty bar.  Our voices were raspy by the time the bar was closing down.  As we left, the musician thanked us for making HIS entire night.  That’s when I realized, wow, WE created this fun night, WE embraced it, WE brought our fun energy (our gifts) to the party of life and WE left our mark.  We made his night but truly we made OUR own night.  This was an eye-opening lesson for me.

IMG_2952

As an analogy for life, I am now seeing how the decision to go on this road trip was only the beginning of something beautiful!  This adventure started a wave or current and it was only because we brought our attitudes, openness and zest for life that a whole chain of exciting events was set forth into motion.   It allowed us to experience things on this journey that we had no idea were possible!  

Lessons learned on the road:

  1. Don’t be afraid to alter or recalibrate your original goals
  2. Always bring your unique gifts to the party of life
  3. Allow yourself to be curious. Meet people, learn about them!
  4. Embrace life as it occurs, spontaneity is the best!
  5. Life is as fun & as full as we make it.  Make sure you leave your mark – whether it’s on an adventure trip or on life itself!!  We hold the key, we are in charge, we can make this life as colorful and full as we want it to be.
  6. It’s never ever too late!

I’d like to leave you with a few words that really resonated with me from “The Opposite of Loneliness,” Marina Keegan’s posthumous collection of essays and stories. She wrote, “What we have to remember is that we can still do anything. We can change our minds, we can start over.  …Try writing for the first time. The notion that it’s too late to do anything is comical. It’s hilarious. We are so young.  We can’t, we MUST not lose this sense of possibility because in the end, it’s all we have.”

Right now, I am looking forward to looking forward…excited for my next adventure and to continue bringing my gifts to the “party!”
 

* This article is dedicated to Nichole, my “Thelma” ~ this was one of the best weeks of my life and I cannot thank you enough.  I love you and thank you for rekindling that spark of life in my heart.  Thank you also to the fabulous state of Arizona, Linda , Stephanie, Chyrle, JP, Krissy, Lundon, Dave, Toby, Nate, Andrew James, Andrew, Nicholas, Rowella, Jenae, Charlie, Hurley, Josh and all of the other fabulous people we met along this journey.  Thank you all for being such a special part of our adventure!!

IMG_2880