The Past Year

Last April I decided it was time for change. I had been saturated by the DC area and poor choices on my part. The people, quality of life, negative patterns I had accumulated over time and my comfort zones all where drivers for change. I often say wherever you go there you are, and some say that I am a hypocrite. Regardless of what you believe I have found that a change in physical environment drastically impacts your behavior…look at how you feel when at work in an office (for those of you who are exempt from this WAY TO GO) vs outside on a perfect spring day. Furthermore, for the most part humans are creatures of habit and shaking it up sometimes brings snow….Joni Mitchell once said you don’t know what you got till it’s gone and I concur. I also know that I take things, people and experiences for granted….Like the person who lives five minutes from the beach but never goes… So I decided to walk away from a great job, friends/family, a great relationship, money house and 10 minute commute (and for those of you in the DC area you know that is unbelievable) and overall comfort for a journey west to Colorado. To be honest, I barely even thought about it. Details which are challenging for me were taken care of by my company. They packed my belongings; everything from my underwear to my numbchucks, put my car on a flat bed, me on a plane and the rest was history. And then reality hit like Mike Tyson in the early years. I am alone… My goal for this move was to reconnect with me and do some soul searching. I wanted to walk away from everyone and everything and start fresh. In fact my first week in CO I got the I CHING (an amazing book BTW) symbol for inner truth/introspection inked on my right foot. What now connects me to the earth via my feet is compassion and inner truth. The move appeared easy at first and in the end it was a worthy opponent.
Luckily for support, I found a friend in Yoga. The ability to flow in the moment and suspend judgment was therapeutic. Ah yes, and the mountains, another pal…..I found myself in nature everyday. Running, hiking, mountain biking, camping, and then when the winter hit snowboarding! These two outlets combined with daily mediation and writing proved to give me the introspection I desired.
About four months after moving to the springs I realized something…I am never here ( just to give you an idea in the last eight months I traveled to Paris, London (three times) Germany, Hawaii, Egypt, Dominican Republic, DC 9 times, Cali twice, Texas, Utah, Chi-town, Philly, NC, and almost every weekend in CO spent this winter has been in the mountains at our condo in Beaver Creek ) and I am paying DC prices for my apartment and so I decided to buy a house….My first move in the past year I got by with a lot of help from my company and friends. This time I was on my own….It was a painful experience,when the smoked cleared I had turned this house in my home. Colorado has been a great place for solace and to recharge.
So after starting to get comfortable here in CO I have decided to move to India…I have always felt drawn outside the US, perhaps it’s because I was born in Belgium. Regardless, I feel most alive when outside the US and so the opportunity to move to India was exciting. My intuition has told me its right and lately my head and heart have been in a sparing match with my head winning (it is extremely hard; my head and the decision when I actually THINK about it). Renting my newly bought house, selling my car, packing up my stuff, leaving a firm I have worked for five years, being half way around the world from what’s most important to me in life….started giving me serious doubts. I am an ideas person but when its time to put the rubber to the road I have problems getting the engine started….and of course life brought me numerous options to tempt me to choose other paths…relocating to Europe with my current company or a new venture with a close friend. Looking over the cliff scared shitless (like when about to skydive) I am saying oh what the fuck go for it anyway….I‘ll keep you posted on how it works out. Hence this thing called a blog….???