Anyway, as I was saying, we have ventured into a new month.  It’s officially the second half of 2020 and we are all hoping that it’s the better half. Way back when we were discussing our monthly themes we decided that July would be about really LIVING;  B E I N G  A L I V E.  The idea was that after months of intentionality, love, wellness, being present, getting uncomfortable and being open that we would be ready to take on the world.  It felt like we would arrive at the precipice of this new month and feel invigorated to do all the things we’ve always wanted to do. You know how it feels when you’ve worked hard and you finally get to go on that vacation you’ve been working toward or you climb the mountain and it was super hard, but once you get there it was so worth it and you think to yourself, I would totally do that again!  That is what we were expecting for July.

Maybe you are there.  Maybe you have arrived and you have a vacation planned and you are just going for it no matter what the world tries to throw at you.  Awesome, good for you.

What happens though if you aren’t feeling like you know how to get that mountain top experience right now?  Maybe you are thinking that wearing masks and social distancing and fighting for justice and equality are enough.  Maybe being alive, as in your heart is beating and you are breathing in and out, is enough and  B E I N G  A L I V E   is asking for too much right now.  I get it.  I feel the heaviness of it all, too.  Some days it’s a lot to just do your normal routine in the midst of nothing that is normal.  What if you stopped looking at things through the lens of what used to be or “normal” and started thinking about your life in a new way?  Doesn’t just the thought of something new, even if it’s just an idea, make your heart beat a little faster? Forget the plans you had and think about the possibilities that are out there if you just imagine.

We have some friends who started to reimagine travel during this health crisis.  The husband has some health issues and would be considered vulnerable when it comes to COVID.  He also travels a lot for work.  As he began to rethink his job and travel and what it could look like, it morphed into something bigger than they could have imagined.

Let’s call our fiends, Mr. & Mrs. Ritz Carlton.  They work hard, but also enjoy the finer things in life like vacations and nice hotel rooms with a large bathroom and room service.  Mr. Carlton felt like these things were going to be out of the question for him for the next couple of years or at least until we have a serious handle on COVID.  He explained this to Mrs. Carlton and together they hatched a plan that involved what they like to refer to as their “camper van.”  Now, when they first told me about this I thought they were crazy.  Camping?  In a Van?  It was hard to imagine Mr. & Mrs. Ritz Carlton camping their way across the country.   Of course, I was imagining a 1970s VW van with some curtains inside and a mattress on the floor.  They, however, had something a little different in mind.  They bought themselves a tripped out Mercedes van that has EVERYTHING you could possibly want inside, including AC,  a shower and a bathroom.  I’m not going to lie, I was skeptical, but it’s beautiful and EXCITING.

Guys, they took their circumstance and turned them on their head.  They took something like traveling safely for work and turned it into an adventure.  We saw them the weekend they bought it and I can assure you that they felt more  A L I V E  than they have in a long time.  They have been camping with their adult children and exploring Colorado off the grid and they are having the time of their lives in spite of all the other things going on in the world.

Everyone can’t buy a tripped out Mercedes, but that’s not the point.  The point is, do something that makes you feel  A L I V E.   Maybe you can go camping in your backyard and roast s’mores in your fire pit.  Maybe you can go to your local lake and lay in a lawn chair, fish or relax in a tube.  Where could you drive in one day that you’ve never been before?  Go.  Do it.  Now is the time to embrace where we are, what we do have and what we are able to do.  Stop lamenting about all the things we can’t do and go do something you’ve never done before.