Falling in Love in Lisbon

"I love you," is a phrase full of simplicity and complexity. It is a phrase that can contain multiple meanings. It is both straight forward and very misleading. You can love your mom or your dog. You can love your significant other. You can love pasta and garlic bread. Love is both a verb and a noun, though. Love is the foundation of everything. You absolutely cannot have hate and anger without the existence of love first.

It just so happens that I fell in love during my one month stay in Lisbon, Portugal. I fell in love with the city. I fell in love with a variety of different people. I fell in love with my art. But most importantly, I fell in love with myself.

Beginning a new month in a brand new country with a brand new set of customs and lifestyle to adapt to seemed scary. If I had learned anything in the first 2 months of travel, though, it's that there wasn't anything to be afraid of whatsoever. I had nothing but opportunities of happiness, love, and positive change ahead of me. 

Fear is just a distraction, and I wanted to have a month of projecting self love and exploration. I had many conversations and made some very deep connections with my fellow remotes and a few locals. They all encouraged and supported me through every emotion I had, and I followed through with a handful of advice by dissecting myself, examining the way I think and feel, and finding the things that are beneficial to my life and the things that are destructive. 

Throughout my stay in Lisbon, I experienced and embraced every emotion from anger to joy, frustration to peacefulness, and love to heartbreak.  I celebrated my 26th birthday, the holidays, and the new year through tears of both happiness and sadness. Throughout all of this, I took note of some personal goals, or resolutions as some may call it, to work on from here on on out. The year of 2018 will be focused mostly around the concepts of love and self-care. Here is a little taste of what I propose for this new year:

1. Embrace the Empath Within

   How: I propose to channel my empathy-superpowers in a way that brings more peace and happiness to others and myself, instead letting the overwhelming amounts of emotions cause fatigue and sadness. Emapthy is based on levels and types of energy, so if I practice controlling the input and output of certain types of energy, I can make my life and others' much more happier and full of positivity.

2. Go for More Gratitude

    How: This one may seem vague and almost too simple. However, I often find myself taking much of the blessings in my life for granted because I'm distracted by all of the negativity happening around me or to me. So, I propose to end each day by physically writing down or having a conversation with someone about at least one thing I am grateful for. By doing it at the end of the day instead of the beginning, I will allow myself to reflect on the day, whether it was good or bad, and pick out the things that were special and meaningful to me. I believe this will essentially boost my positivity levels and create a lifestyle that invites more things to be grateful for.

3. The Minimalist Me

    How: Currently, I already have a great start to this goal, as the traveling lifestyle sort of forces you to get rid of things you don't need as you go from one place to another. Every month I have been and will continue to go through a ritual of donating and throwing out the things I feel i don't need anymore in oder to meet the weight requirements for my flights. Just as more stuff causes a heavier suitcase, so does the negative and hurtful thoughts that remain in the mind cause a burdensome lifestyle. This year, I propose to work on on detaching from the things I cannot control, focus on the ones I can, and remind myself that sometimes, the only thing I will be able to control is my attitude towards something.

4. More Art, Water/Tea, and Sleep

    How: This year I propose to:

• Create more art of all kinds.  I want to illustrate more, and possibly create a children's story.

• Drink more water and tea of all kinds. At least 8 glasses/cups a day.

• Sleep at least 8 hours every night, and try to stay on a good sleep schedule.

5. Find My Inner Flaw-some

    How: One of my favorite quotes is, "You can be the juiciest, ripest peach in the world, and there’s still going to be people who hate peaches." There will never be a time where everyone understands me. Not everyone will appreciate my uniqueness. Sometimes my genuine energy makes people fearful, because it challenges them to be real and honest with themselves. Not everyone is ready for that kind of growth.

I propose to be more conscious of not blaming myself for someone else's difficulty to accept my greatness and to not take things so personally. This is the year where I will 100% realize my worth and understand that my level of vibration is not meant to match everyone I meet. Some people only enter my life to teach me a lesson or two and to remind me of how I should be treated. This is the time to focus on my inner peace..... and flaw-someness.

As I enter into the new year with a new home in Japan, I recognize the potential and opportunity that's set up so perfectly to allow me to reach my goals, but, of course, it's up to me to make it happen.

I hope this post inspires you to set and follow through with some of your own personal goals. But, most importantly, please remember to project love in every corner of your life as often as possible! Let 2018 literally be the loveliest year of all!