I just got back from a week in Juluchuca, Mexico on a yoga retreat. (Go ahead and say Juluchuca – it’s fun, and it’ll get stuck in your head. You’re welcome!)
I needed the break more than even I’d realized.
Seven days of yoga twice a day, eating the most incredible, organic meals (that someone else made and served me!), resting, playing in the ocean, and reading. That’s right, I read an actual entire book – and started on a second!!
My casita had a thatched roof, and was open-air, so the ocean waves roared in my room at night. And pretty quickly, the sounds of the ocean in my head took over the sounds of my thoughts.
I literally didn’t think for days. (That never happens!)
I have lots to say about this experience, but I won’t bore you by pulling a 1980s travel slide show. One thing I will share, though, is that this place is magical, and I will be bringing a fantastic group of ladies here on a retreat. (If you want to be the first to know about this opportunity when the details are ready, shoot me a quick email back saying so.)[
Yes, I do have something to share beyond that I had a great time. Continue, please.
The property of this eco-resort is in the middle of nowhere. It’s pristine beach for miles, with no other development. The visionaries of this project also own the 100ish acres of farmland adjacent to the hotel, and they are creating a model for impact.
I went on a walking tour of the farm one day…and boy, did I get an education.
First, climate change is real. (Al Gore would be so proud that I’ve finally heard the message decades later.) The stories the staff permaculturist shared about the water table levels were intense. They’ve hired her to plot out how to adjust the landscape to maximize the bang for their buck with water, and to bring in trees that actually help keep water in the air. (If I weren’t already so committed to you, I might be tempted to run away to permaculture school, because every word she said fascinated me.)
Second, the fruit of a cashew nut is not delicious. It’s kind of bitter, like the skin of a plum, and I don’t recommend seeking them out.
Third. Here’s the kicker.
In nature, the antidote often grows right next to the poison.
If you run into poison oak, or poison ivy, or poison something else in the wild, the plant that will soothe it is often found right next to the one that is responsible for creating the nasty, itchy rash.
Right next to it.
Nature is symbiotic like that.
It’s the same with the things you want to be different about your life.
Pick your poison.
Most of us share the same poison, if we’re being honest: not believing that we can have what we want. Either because we don’t deserve it, haven’t earned it, it’s never been done before, we can’t imagine it or see the path to have it, or we’re afraid of the consequences or fallout of having it.
However those thoughts come across your brain – that is the poison.
Now, for the antidote.
You may think that the cure is to shut down those thoughts. Sure, that’s one way, but it’s not the only way. (And unless you have years to meditate and do yoga non-stop, it may not be realistic to shut down the brain.)
The antidote for those “not-enough, not-possible” thoughts is a simple shift: What would I do next if I did believe it were possible?
You don’t have to become a totally different human being to have a different result. You just have to move your thoughts one or two clicks on the dial from the toxic thoughts, the ones that keep you small and stuck.
What would you do next if the thing you want the most were possible?