Hi guys. I know, I’ve been MIA for quite some time now. That’s because my life seems to have changed drastically since the Yoga Teacher Training I attended in April. As all the reviews claimed, it literally was a life changing experience for me. I am now essentially living and breathing yoga on a daily basis. At least, that’s the goal. I feel happy, healthy, loving life, and really have no complaints. I can’t believe what a life changing experience the YTT and my life after have been. I have even stopped eating meat. ;-)
I’m still in Bali. Yes, hard to believe. I left the states in February intending to travel, not planning to stay in Bali for an entire four months. But somehow, that is what happened. Coming from a place of not even liking Bali last year when I was here, Ubud drew me in and wouldn’t let me go. I’m still having a hard time grappling with leaving this beautiful island and all the amazing people I have met, but really - I swear, I am officially leaving the island in about a week. I swear. It’s happening.
I had plans to leave earlier this month and travel a bit in Tokyo and Beijing. But Ubud had other plans for me, so my travel plans were entirely scrapped. That said, I do intend to leave Ubud in a couple of days for another silent meditation retreat and then the beach, both in Bali. After that, I really am leaving Bali for Tokyo and then flying to the US east coast to see my family before starting back up at work again in Washington, DC. Really. I think.
I went into this six month stint with the intention of trying to figure out what the heck I wanted to do with my life. Did I want to go back to my 9-5 and continue with health policy/IT work? Or did I want to try some new projects, freelancing, something online to keep me afloat and to support my traveling lifestyle? How would I make location independence a reality?
Long story short, after the YTT I repeatedly received message after message telling me to stop doing and to just be. Literally, it said:
“Be patient, the answers will come.” - Jodi’s meditation
Enjoy life. Stop stressing over trying to make something happen that just isn’t happening. Live. Do what I love and enjoy this time off from work. So, that’s what I’ve been doing. I’ve been going with the flow of life and just following that flow to see where it takes me. That means not trying to force blog posts too. I love you guys and all, but I had to chill. And it’s been quite the ride.
I want to write more about everything I’ve learned, about yoga, about all the life changing things that have happened to me up until this point, but I want to enjoy my last few days in Ubud too. So, the inspirational, deep, meaningful posts will have to come at a later time. I simply wanted to let you all know I am going to be MIA for a week or so with no contact with the outside world at the silent retreat. I’ll still be here, just not communicating. Nothing but me, nature, amazing food, meditation, and learning from within. And I think it’s going to be glorious.
All I can leave you with is this, and I know I’ve said it before. Life is short. We literally don’t know what will come next. So my message to you is to try to live your life without regrets. Listen to yourself. Trust your intuition. Follow your heart despite what others may think is best for you. Because only you know what is best. Listen to that, try to get past all the thoughts and perceptions clouding your intuition and your true nature. Because the answers are always within, we just have to learn to listen to them.
With love,
Jodi
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I can’t leave without splashing you all with pics from the last couple of months. Enjoy!
That’s all I’ve got for now. In Ubud-speak:
Peace and love,
Jodi