Location, Location, Location...

I will probably not be making numerous posts in one day once were there, but since I just started this blog there is a bit of information to set the stage so to speak. We will be staying in Christchurch, New Zealand. We have secured a lovely holiday rental home on the beach.  The beautiful expanse of New Brighton beach is right across the road and I am told the area is home to many creative and friendly people.  

This home was a great find, reasonably priced and in a great location with near by shopping, cafes, medical and bus line stops. Almost everything we were looking for in a location. It even comes with a few surf boards, which is an interesting perk seeing as one of my more audacious goals when there is to try and learn to surf. Christchurch is the largest city on the South Island with a population of about 370,00 people.Through online research and speaking with a surprising amount of people who have been there or have relatives that have lived there New Zealand is an amazingly safe and friendly place which is why we felt it would be ideal for our first family abroad adventure.

10 days to go...

After almost a year of planning, stressful setbacks, and drastic adjustments we, my fiance Greg, our daughter Cecelia and myself, are just a little over a week from leaving on our three month New Zealand adventure. For my fiance, soon to be husband, this trip is one in a long line of adventures abroad but for me and Celia it is a first. A professional artist and mother, I am a home-body by nature and while the idea of being one of those people who do audacious and adventurous things is incredibly attractive the reality of what we are doing has had me plagued with anxiety for the past few weeks. I think this is the reason many people don't do these sort of adventurous things. The idea of leaving everything known, closing down one's home and letting go of stable security to experience something new, even something amazing, is terrifying.

So, of course, the question is, if it is so terrifying, filled with so much work and stress, why do it at all?

And the answer is simply put, growth. Staying in one's comfort zone for an entire life is attractive and many people spend their entire lives making choices that are based on comfort and security. But at the end, what have you really gained from such choices in light of your soul? We can't take security with us. Not only is it an illusion in this life, proof of which can be shown in the economic and housing market crash experienced here in the US over the last year or two, but we can't take it with us into the next life. I believe as people our purpose here is to grow, to expand our understanding of life and become the most we can in our time here. Experiences are the only real things we can take with us anywhere and everywhere. Good or bad, experiences change us and make us, so why not pursue the opportunity to experience something dramatically different and therefore infinite in its potential for growth.

Of course, that is all easy to say, hard to live. A part of me wants to be an ostrich, maintaining the simple piece of land that hides my head and pursuing the goals that most other people have like a home ownership, a nice car, etc. There is a strong attraction there to be a part of the mainstream because it is seemingly safe and known. But as my daughter quoted to me from something she read somewhere that she found amusing, "Beware of the mainstream, people get lost in there." So for those that find this blog out of consideration of similar adventurous plans, remember that and ask yourself what your more afraid of, the unknown and insecure or getting lost in the mainstream and waking up one day to the regrets of not taking more chances for experience in your life.

Personally, I'm more afraid of waking up one day in my sixties and looking over my life with despair for not having taken more chances. So I endure my poor nerves and remind myself often that things that scare us are meant to expand our vessel. I remind myself that choices like this are the difference between an ordinary life and an extraordinary one.

If you’ve come across this blog in a moment of daydreaming but don’t think it’s even remotely possible for you to do such a thing stop yourself right now and ask yourself is it really impossible? Many things that seem impossible are not; in fact many impossible seeming things are really just problems that you haven’t found the solution to. If you really want to experience new places then do some research into possibility instead of immediately dismissing your desires. If you are a single person there are many opportunities to go abroad including study abroad through universities, volunteer opportunities and working holiday programs. As a family going abroad it takes a bit more planning because you are often on your own since most programs aren’t designed for families, but it is possible. It may take a year or two of planning or sacrifice of some of the material things we apply an over bloated importance on but in the end it’s a matter of what is most important to you.