Somewhere over the Dateline

“There is freedom waiting for you,
On the breezes of the sky,
And you ask “What if I fall?”
Oh but my darling,
What if you fly?”
― Erin Hanson (Australian)

I came across this poem on the wall of a coffee shop in Austin several years ago and when I did, a seed was planted somewhere in my spirit.

And slowly it grew. It grew into a painting on the wall in my bedroom and it kept growing.

It kept guiding me to believe – what if?

What if you don’t fall?

And it kept growing a little bigger in me.

Until one day, it was time to start this journey.

That day was one year and one day ago – having plan, no real goal, no idea what any of it was going to look like.

I was still totally scared of the fall.

But somehow, that little seed had grown enough inside me to give me just enough hope to jump too.

And I did.

And I flew.

And it seemed like I was just getting the hang of my wings when I hit the ground hard in India.

I found myself in Goa without a plan. Worn out from India, I started getting homesick and started to question what I was doing. Was all of this worth it? Where is it all going? What was the point? What did I walk away from and for what?

And then I met this couple.

You see, Sandra and Tristan live in Western Australia and well, let’s just say…life will never be the same again.

They gave me a pitch for Perth that went something like this:

So, like anyone would do after that, I took the hint and bought a one-way ticket to Australia – and found my wings again.

When I look back, I feel like Australia has been calling me for a long time. From my Aussie exchange teacher Mr. Beardall in 4^th grade, to Australia around every corner back in Austin in August, I feel like the universe was trying to get my attention every way it could.

But what did I do?

I bought a ticket to Bali and then somehow went all around Asia before the universe sent me Sandra and Tristan in one last hope of actually getting me down under.

Thank god I was so worn out that I couldn’t over think it all and come up with a ‘better plan’, and I finally made it to Australia last November.

And as soon as I landed, I knew. This is it.

I didn’t see it coming and I almost missed it, but there it was. What I had been looking for all along.

I landed in Perth with the intention of staying for a week. It turned into three. Then I headed east and spent three more weeks driving (yes, on the left) from Cairns to Sydney. Then I raced back to Austin for Christmas only to get back to Australia again in early January.

There’s just magic here. Life just flows for me in a never ending wave of surprise, nurture, ease and joy and I intend to ride this wave as long as I can.

The sunsets. The beaches. The blues. The roos.