I slept on a massage table on NYE. Here’s what I learned…
New Year's Eve and January 1st looked nothing like I expected. I'd planned to spend New Years in the Amazon Rainforest with the Sapara Nation like I had for the last 2 years but at the last minute my plans got pushed back by 3 days.
I don’t really sweat these last minute changes because after living a nomadic life for 4.5 years, I’m pretty used to pivoting and quickly creating a new plan.
After all, my favorite way to live is to go with the flow.
Since I was already in Puyo, a small city at the entrance of the Amazon here in Ecuador, I decided to stay local and check out a nearby town about 45 minutes away. When I made a few quick phone calls, the 2 hotels I was looking at only had availability for the 30th, not the 31st, but I decided to hop in a cab anyways, spend the night and figure it out in the morning – trusting that it always works out.
Even though it wasn’t what I planned, I wanted to make the most of my experience. I spent the next day visiting this gorgeous waterfall and booked a full body massage and chocolate wrap (the best!).
While I was getting my massage, I remembered back to a time in 2019 when I was trying to cross the border from Mexico to Guatemala and the border closed at sunset. I cried to the bus driver and he assured me that he wouldn't leave me stranded and indeed found me a very simple room to stay for the night.
That experience taught me a big lesson that there is always somewhere to stay and you’re never truly alone.
Earlier in the day, I had asked the nice man at the front desk to help me find a place to stay and when I checked in with him after my massage, he told me he didn’t have any luck. Everywhere was booked. With a smile on his face, he said that if worst comes to worst, I can always sleep on the massage table where I had just gotten a massage.
I smiled and told him "thank you but I’m sure I’ll find something."
Fast forward an hour, and after contacting about 20 hotels, searching on Airbnb, Priceline, Expedia etc, open to any price point, there was absolutely nothing available within an hour radius of where I was staying. I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
In the end, I told Juan that I would need to sleep on the massage table and really thanked him for extending that offer and not leaving me screwed. He even added an extra table for me to join the special New Years Eve dinner that night even though they were fully booked.
Truly humbled and grateful.
I checked in with two friends, Emily and Sol, to receive support during this unexpected really strange day.
Through their reflection, I was able to feel my inner strength and embrace the situation whole heartedly.
Life is full of twists and turns. As the saying goes, change is the only constant and the only thing we can control is how we show up in our life whatever the situation is.
Because my life is rooted in ritual, in my relationship with myself and the invisible world, it really didn’t matter that I didn’t have a real room or my own space that night. My sense of stability and safety comes from within.
I did what I would do if I was staying at my parents house, in a $500/night 5-star hotel or in this situation.
That night I went and sat on the roof of the hotel during sunset and called into a live meditation gathering on Zoom. I got dressed up for the beautiful dinner and went to bed a little after 10pm. I thanked the spa for receiving me and had a great sleep.
I welcomed 2023 bright and early, packed up my small bag, brought it to the office and went straight out to the river with a cup of cacao in hand (I always travel with cacao and an electric milk frother so I can do my ritual from anywhere).
I offered my sincere gratitude for this land, the generosity I received, the lessons and experience, the river, my life, my family. I drank my cacao and gave some as an offering. I carried on and had a lovely day.
I share this long and intimate story because I feel like for me, it’s the essence of how I need to be in this coming year. We can plan all we want, but life is still full of unpredictability and unexpected changes.
I know I can flow and adapt to any situation life gives me because I’ve cultivated a deeply inspiring life that is rooted in my small daily rituals.
I’m excited to dive deeper into this topic tomorrow, Friday, January 20th, during An Inspired Life workshop.
In this 90 minute Zoom gathering, we’ll explore how to create a truly inspiring life (and business if you have one!) rooted in the small daily practices that create the subtle fabric of our life.
We won’t focus so much on planning the outward goals, but rather looking within and feeling from the heart what we really want to be committed to this year.
I know that 2023 will be a huge year in every way and the best way to prepare for all of the projects, creations and visions we have personally and professionally & all of the unknowns that will 100% happen is to connect to the rituals that create an inspiring life.