Reflections from the Road – I Choose My Shoes https://ichoosemyshoes.com Sat, 02 May 2020 20:22:03 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.5.5 165830999 The Beauty is in the Journey https://ichoosemyshoes.com/the-beauty-in-the-journey/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=the-beauty-in-the-journey Wed, 25 Sep 2019 22:33:17 +0000 https://ichoosemyshoes.com/?p=322 …]]> They say it’s not about the destination but the journey along the way and I can truly testify to there being such truth in this. There is so much beauty in the journey but so often we are fixated on the finish line that we miss the gems along the way. It’s the friendships you make, the people you meet, the new foods you get to try. It’s the times when things go wrong and you have about ten minutes to come up with a solution before everything really goes tits up. It’s hearing your name announced for the third and final time at the airport and having to leg it to your gate in time to catch that flight. It’s lounging around in a hammock for most of the afternoon without a plan for the rest of the day. It’s hiking through the jungle and taking the hand of a stranger as you are pulled over boulders. It’s falling flat on your bum and having to pick yourself up, dust yourself off and keep it moving. It’s following the lead of a sexy Cuban dancer all the while getting every step wrong, but having the best time anyway. It’s doing your best to make sense of the world through a culture you’ve never experienced. It’s trying to communicate in a language you can’t speak. It’s desperately running from shop to shop trying to find wifi. It’s laughing it off when you get it wrong and celebrating your wins when you get it right. It’s having to re-route a whole itinerary and move to a safer Island when you’re trying to escape a hurricane. It’s checking in on a new friend when they feel sick or sad. It’s being vulnerable and sharing with the group when you’re struggling. It’s bursting into fits of laughter at things that don’t make sense to anybody but you. It’s waking up in a foreign country on your 31st birthday and celebrating the day with randoms. It’s catching a virus, then accidentally passing that virus on to everyone else in the group causing them get sick too. It’s sharing your experiences and swapping tips with other travellers you’ve just met. It’s praising God for the beauty of nature and marvelling at His handiwork from the top of a mountain. It’s face-timing your family and friends back home and hearing to how their day went. It’s sitting in an overheated smelly bus for nine hours feeling like you want to cry. It’s being asked over and over again whether you are a solo traveller and then being commended for your bravery when your answer is yes. It’s rolling home at stupid-o’clock in the morning when you know you have to get up for salsa class first thing. It’s knowing you’ve had one too many mojito’s but buying another round anyway. It’s forgetting to bring snacks. It’s flying a kite in the middle of the Caribbean Sea. It’s embracing whatever comes your way and always being willing to try something new.

This is the beauty in the journey.

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