June has been an interesting month full of insights, reflection, and mirroring. What I mean by mirroring is that I see myself in others, and it’s not all good…

The mirroring thing has been happening to me all month. If this is some kind of message, I’m hearing you loud and clear, universe! Not sure I need any more examples, thank you very much!

This growing awareness has become a valuable tool. It gives me the chance to pause, reflect, and ask some important questions.

At some point in my journey, I realized I needed to stop looking for happiness and fulfillment from external sources. Of course, this can happen, but it’s short-lived.

I realized that I needed to go within and discover what was holding me back. I learned a tremendous amount about myself, all the whys, whats, and hows of who I became. I began to gain a better understanding of who I am, and through a combination of awareness, acceptance, and letting go, I started to like myself. 

I don’t think we ever stop growing and learning. I realized that there was one more piece to the puzzle. I didn’t love myself.

I’m noticing and testing my limits while in transit. For example, I spent four days socializing, eating, and drinking this past weekend. The lead-up to this was prepping for the graduation celebration that preceded the four-day extravaganza.

I really tested my limits of socializing. I am an introvert, and I’m great one-on-one, pretty good with a few people, and not so good with a crowd. I get overwhelmed by the noise and energy e.g. many conversations going on simultaneously.

This isn’t news. I know crowds are not my thing. I know extensive socializing over many days is exhausting for me. I know I become cranky and hard to be around…

I don’t go to the beach seeking joy—at least not consciously. I go because it feels good. I go because it brings me peace. And yet, in those moments when I’m not striving or reaching or trying to make something happen, joy shows up. It appears right in front of me. I just have to notice it.

That’s the beautiful thing about joy. We don’t have to chase it. We don’t have to manufacture it or control the conditions. If we’re open, it will find us.

Take a listen to “What brings you joy?”…

This is the first episode of my travel journal, The Intentional Roamer. If you missed the intro video, I am on a drive-about visiting friends and family. I thought I’d share my experience. It is similar to my posts about the emotional impact of change and transition, but in audio form.

Speaking of what’s getting in the way, this trip sparked a couple of realizations about my need to feel productive and how I judge myself. Scarcity mindset got some airtime too.

Also, did I retire and am just not willing to admit it? On that note, can we retire the word “retire”? It sounds like we are taking a big nap for the rest of our days.

Honestly, can we come up with a new word or phrase, or maybe just acknowledge that we are moving onto something different?

Hey there—welcome to the intentional roamer, a travel journal, of sorts!

I’m at a point in my life where…I actually don’t know what’s next. At all. I just sold my house, put my stuff in storage, packed my car, and now I’m basically free as a bird—just me and a dog named Bebe.

I’m not gonna lie. It’s a little disconcerting. But it’s also crazy exciting. Normally, a moment like this would send me into a full-on overthinking spiral. Where will I live? What will I do? What’s my five-year plan? 

And then I realized: I don’t have to decide anything right now.

The relief was huge. Like, deep exhale, shoulders-down, kind of relief. I experienced a complete sense of freedom…