2024 marks the first year that I traveled to the U.S. knowing that it’s the place I no longer intend to call my home.
And what a special time it was! After almost two months, I find myself writing this blog post the old-fashioned way, with good old paper and pencil on a plane. Sometimes going back to the basics is best. I wanted to take a moment to share some of my reflections at a high level, knowing full well that more in-depth posts around certain parts of my trip are also in the works. So here goes…
- Intention matters
The word ‘intention’ came up a lot during my travels. Whether during the Farm Crawl (more on that later) or reading an entire book about it (thanks Wayne Dyer!) or listening to interviews I’d recorded for The Transcendent Farmer Podcast, this idea that you ‘intend’ to do/feel/think/experience something in particular is wonderful because it leaves a lot up to spirit/the Universe/God/[insert your word of choice] to interpret and co-create with you. It also leaves things a bit open, because when you intend, it’s open to change.
2. Don’t feel like you can’t prioritize meaningful relationships
Building off #1, my intention for my trip was all about investing in and nourishing relationships, both personal and professional. This resulted in long chats by the bonfire, excited brainstorming late into the evening, facilitating a happy hour, putting more than 5000 miles on the truck, and at least a hundred photos of smiling faces, farm visits, and good meals. I think for a long time I’ve felt that spending so much time enjoying myself and away from the screen would be detrimental to my financial health. Yet, I found that I could still manage my work remotely, my contract load wasn’t too high, and I was able to push pause on some extracurricular and hobby-type projects.
I decided to loosen my grip on timelines I thought would look a certain way. And somehow, it’s all working out, and I’m doing just fine. In fact, I’m better than fine, and I feel like I have a lot more clarity around what my intentions are for the next 12 months.
3. As much as I love the nomadic nature of my life, I’m also very much looking forward to the day I can put photos up on the wall of a place I call home.
I honestly thought that I was going to be settled with an apartment and start my search for a vehicle by now. But my intuition says that I haven’t quite found my community yet. The place I want to call home. It’s weird, but having access to books and/or a library is something I highly value, and reading really isn’t part of the culture in Costa Rica. Books are very expensive and publicly funded libraries just aren’t a thing. Thanks, Mom, for fostering such a love for reading within me at such a young age. It may be pulling me to a different part of the world altogether…
4. For the first time, I feel like I’m talking about American culture as if I don’t really identify with it much anymore.
My perspective has really shifted when it comes to my ability to step back and see the bigger picture. This has been invaluable when it comes to my professional work. When you’re not ‘in it’, you have a fresher perspective that allows you to look at what’s happening at a macro scale. My experiences working with fellow entrepreneurs through ILT Academy has helped with that quite a bit. Because you’re exposed to people across all kinds of industries, you seek out the high-level ideas and themes to learn to listen to people in a different way. How are they interpreting the problem? Is that really the problem? Have they verified it, and if so, how?
One of my favorite things about my experiences with ILT is that I see so much potential for collaboration between entrepreneurs and the planning professionals I work with on a regular basis. They invest a lot of time and money in working to understand the biggest challenges in their community when it comes to housing, childcare, transportation, education, business development, sustainable agriculture, and more. They work to collect data and measure changes in that over time. They try to predict what’s going to happen in the next 15-20 years and adjust city, county, and statewide programs, policies, and investments accordingly. And they use local, state, and federal funds to make those investments.
Some of the coolest things about the business community are that 1) We’re doers (we get shit done), 2) We’re passionate and self-driven, and 3) We generally care about the place we live.
I can think of no better complement to the problems that planners are grappling with on the daily.
4. In-person connection and physical touch is a human necessity
While I’m aware that there will always be people who aren’t fans of hugs and other forms of physical touch, I will always advocate for physical affection. There’s some really interesting research in El Mito de La Normalidad that talks about the lasting effects on infants when their mother’s don’t immediately embrace them upon birth. Basically, if your kid is swept off into some chamber or wrapped in fabric, and that skin-to-skin contact isn’t there, it can result in prolonged psychological impact for the infant. And it’s not positive. There’s also information from that same book that talks about when mothers are not given choice as to the kind of birth they have (referring to the skyrocketing rate of cesarian sections), it ends up having long-term impacts on the parent-child relationship.
Statistics and research aside, in my own personal experiences, I’ve found that while there are tremendous benefits to working remotely, I also love being around people, in the company of others, and in a position to offer a hug when it’s needed. When I was in the States, I think I lost count of how many hugs I gave and received. Sometimes with individuals a few times within a span of a few hours, even. Other times, the shocking coldness of a wave of the hand as a greeting was a hard transition from the sweet kiss on the cheek that I’ve grown accustomed to in Costa Rica.
The need for greater connection – both through hugs and just plain old gathering in the same place – continues to be a point that I pick out from interviews I transcribe from work, issues we discuss in creating stronger food systems, and from farmers I talk to directly. How interesting that we live in a world that, in many ways, is more connected than ever, yet somehow we can’t tell you the name of our neighbors just down the street.
As I look forward to this next four weeks in Costa Rica, I intend on being open to receiving whatever information, messages, and experiences help expand my mind.
What would my life look like when it’s healthy, supported, and filled with joy? And I intend on doing so not just for myself, but for my family that’s alive today and my ancestors. As I move into this next phase of learning and un-learning, I invite you to take some time to reflect on the following questions, especially if you’re looking to shift your perspective around a topic that’s been making you feel stuck:
A. What is an area of my life where I feel like I’m replaying thoughts/emotions of the past?
B. Ideally, how would I like this topic/subject to make me feel?
C. Is there anything from my childhood that I can clearly still connect to my present-day thoughts about this topic?
D. Are these feelings still valid or true for me?
E. What can I learn from that experience that may have positively influenced who I am today?
F. Am I continuing to surround myself with people that reinforce my old beliefs around this experience/topic/subject?
G. What opportunities do I have to change these narratives and surround myself with different perspectives that may challenge my existing beliefs?
H. Are there ways for me to communicate my goals with other people so that I can set healthy boundaries around this topic/subject/experience? What would help me strengthen my courage to do so and follow through on this goal?
I. What are my next steps to put this insight into action (one of my favorite Marie Forleo sayings…)? Is there anyone I can count on to help me with accountability to ensure I’ll do what I’ve said I will?
If you found this useful, feel free to share it with someone you believe would gain value as well!
