Bali, Indonesia. 2017.

It doesn’t happen right away, and that could be discouraging. When I think about something I’ve wanted really badly, having almost a yearning sensation for it, I had to wait. I’m not referring to the feeling of having a craving, getting the food desired, and feeling satisfied after, it’s deeper than that. It’s the moment I say to myself, “I want to get a degree in Journalism. I want to write a children’s book. I want to start painting. I want a place to call my own. I want to travel the world. I want…” It’s understanding the things that will truly add much value to my life, and my lifestyle, that will not come easily. It is having the desire for whatever I want, and surrendering once I’ve released those desires to the universe. I know in due time, I’ll have all that I’ve ever asked for, and until those moments I must prepare myself to receive them.

We all have desires, ones that we keep to ourselves, and ones that we’ve shared out loud, but what are we doing to prepare to receive all that we’ve been asking for? It’s a matter of consistency. It’s a matter of aligning all things within our lives to complement and support our desires.

I love to travel. I have a passion for it, and therefore much of what I do subconsciously revolves around it. I choose not to shop for materialistic things, but I make sure I have what’s essential to my way of living. At the start of 2014, I created a vision board of all things I wanted to manifest that year, or eventually. Looking back, within the year of 2014 up until now, everything on that vision board has been brought into fruition. The destinations I wanted to travel to, the characteristics I wanted to build on, the possessions I wanted to withhold, the jobs I wanted to transition into, the spiritual awakenings I wanted to experience, everything! It didn’t happen over night, over the course of one year, but they did happen! I worked toward it, never losing hope. Never giving up faith. I knew, in divine time, I’d have what I asked for, because I spent time preparing myself for it. Along the way, it was the little things, such as receiving a gift of a globe last year, with an inscription that reads my favorite line, “Happy is the girl who travels the world.” It was no coincidence, I attracted that into my life. It was meant for me to have, and now it sits in a special place in my home, as a daily reminder to be consistent with my passion for traveling.

It’s the moments in time that we must appreciate first. It’s the steps we have to take, to get where we want to go. It’s the faith we have to carry in our hearts, the spark we have to keep alive in our spirits. It’s the joys we have to feel wholeheartedly, the gratitude we must express, the hunger we have to feed, and the thirsts we have to quench. It’s the moment along our journey, when we simply become tired, but feel we don’t have time to take a break. That’s when we have to pay close attention to our paths. The universe knows us, sees us, and understands us. The universe conspires when we are tired, when we are ignorant, and tests us by placing before us exactly what we need in that moment, for the strength we need to carry on.

So, on my path, when I’m on a mission, but I know I’m feeling a bit tired, and “out of nowhere” a coconut that has fallen from the tree, is placed at my feet – I know there is no coincidence. It’s my choice to step over it and keep going, or stop to take the break I need. It’s the moment I ask myself if I’m too busy focusing on my destination, or am I open to all of the beauties and gifts presented to me along the way. I don’t know about you, but when the coconut falls, I’m stopping to pick it up. I’m figuring out a way to crack it open, take the sip, and revitalize the energy I need to carry on…

The dream is there, it’s not going anywhere, but the gratitude is even more sincere when there is no rush in getting to just that one place. Yet, when having arrived, the appreciation becomes magnified. We all have such unique and inspiring journeys. There are special stories we have to tell, and it’s fact that we live off of people’s stories.

It is in that moment when I was really tired, and feeling thirsty, that a coconut appeared. It is in the moment I took a sip, and the moment I was grateful for stopping to take the break. If I didn’t stop, I wouldn’t have noticed the tree, that provided the coconut, and all of the beauty surrounding it. Let’s do our best to pay attention to the signs, and when necessary, stop for a drink of water.

What is your coconut?