August 2014 - Leap of Faith Life

Month: August 2014

10 Great Things About Getting Kicked out of Europe for the Summer

The universe is a funny thing. It leads us in directions we are not quite ready fore most of the time.

That for me, came again this summer in the form of a visa denial. I did not get approved for visa I applied for to live in Europe with my German boyfriend, whom I affectionately call H in this blog. Because of European/US travel laws, it meant I only had 90 days I could legally stay in Europe. Upon using that time up, I had to leave for 90 days in order to ‘refresh’ my Passport and be allowed back into the Schengen area (90 days in, 90 days out).

I spent hours and hours and more hours in research, paperwork and more research to learn how to stay in the Schengen area at the beginning of the year. All to be denied and forced to leave my boyfriend I had worked so hard to join (he had to finish up his last year of university in Europe), and add more time to our already ridiculous amount of time apart during the long-distance portion of our relationship. Such is life with an American and German in love; a situation so many people must deal with in long distance relationships that are separated by foreign boarders.

I was forced to decide where to go and how to feel about it. I decided pretty quickly it made the most sense for me to return back to the States, and live with my family in Minnesota for the summer. I had been in Denver the past ten years (and in those ten years two of them spent in South Korea for grad school). This was a really special thing I had been offered, to spend the whole summer in Minnesota with my family, something I hadn’t done since I was a kid.

How Sail boats Made Me Excited to Turn 30

Making Peace with Birthdays

August 14, 2014 / Azahar / 0 Comments

This experience came at me out of no where. Despite my 10 year high school reunion this year, I haven’t paid a particular amount of attention to my age (well, more than normal anyway). So, this boat thing surprised me and really, really helped me clear my head on the whole damn age thing.

Weird Coincidences
After a long run (well, long for me anyway, I’m a total newbie to running) along the shore front of Lake Superior in Duluth, Minnesota, I did my normal cool down walk. It was a beautiful breezy summer day, and sweaty or not, something was calling me to go sit down on a public bench on the beach instead of returning immediately to my car to go home and shower. The sky and water were both insanely blue, and I decided to listen to the urge to sit, rather than ignore it (the easier option).

The only reason I actually listened to this voice came from my recent commitment to my meditation practice. It’s a bit embarrassing to admit as a yoga teacher for the past four years, my daily home meditation practice was sorely lacking. I began to get serious about it this summer, and settled in to a nice space after a month or so.

Stay with me here – once I made a commitment to get my butt down on the ground for 10 – 20 minutes (mind you, I had to work up to that amount of time, I started off with a few minutes each day), I started to see the benefits immediately, and I was addicted.

I am pushed to consider the world around and inside me, to recognize love in myself and admire love in everyone around me. It’s freaking amazing. It puts me in check when I have a moment where something might jump out at me to knock me down. I take a moment to calm down or just breathe in gratitude. Much better than seeing red when someone cuts me off in traffic!

It also guides me to focus and recognize when the universe tries to send me signs, messages, or just a little love. Normally people only acknowledge messages after something tragic happens, like a death, to see little signs of love around them. Small, yet significant – a particularly beautiful sunset, a certain song on the radio or a dog coming to say hello with the same name.

The Event that Changed My Outlook About Age on the Beach
About five minutes after I sat down on that bench I was called to put my booty in, I saw off in the distance a little parade of sail boats coming down the waterway. They were about 1000 feet offshore, and a beautiful site to see. They were coming in at a fast clip, so I decided to walk down to the water’s edge and take a few pictures. Continue reading

My European Leap of Faith

August 11, 2014 / Azahar / 0 Comments

How my leap of faith process might help you with yours

Somewhere on the interwebs, the phrase ‘leap of faith’ is described as “an act of believing in or attempting something whose existence or outcome cannot be proved.”

For me, that is both terrifying and deeply comforting. A dichotomy, I realize. It also means; however, that others have searched for the term, that I’m not alone in this time of change. The famous google search when in a moment of crisis. If you are on the precipice of making a huge decision, read on and see if the process I use is of any help.

The different types of leaps & my crazy story

There are many types of ‘leaps of faith’ in all parts of life. Hopefully, we take at least little ones every day; getting out of bed in the morning, cooking something delicious for someone you love (or to be that loved someone doing the tasting), traveling to a new city, trying yoga, or moving across the ocean.

My leap of faith involves another country.

For me, as I write, it’s a leap of faith in moving across an ocean. The US to Europe to be more specific. For love. And a career change. And to scratch my travel itch again. Did I mention I don’t have my visa in hand yet? Or a specific ‘job’ lined up? Or a partner that is 1000% sure we are ready for such a journey? Nether one of us is 1000% sure – but no one ever is sure about anything under the influence of that sassy love hormone (unless you’re plain crazy, in my opinion).