Strategic planning or following my deepest desires?

Before coming to Asia I envisioned finding a job in a town or small city and staying there for a while. Even knowing that I cannot find happiness in comfort, I still wish the day will come in which I can stay still. Well, this is not the time.

It is funny how we attract what we really desire and, because we are unaware of this, we become surprised by what manifests in our lives. Deeply in my heart, what I wanted to get out of Asia was to travel, to experience new things, and to study yoga – and something bigger that I am still trying to elaborate. Therefore, I started receiving many invitations: a job in Pattaya, another in Phnom Penh, and another in Phuket; plus the possibilities of moving to Vietnam or Taiwan. After many internal struggles and talks with some wise friends I opened the space for what I truly desire to happen.

I declined the three job offers, which would have me make rush moves and disrupt the peace I need now. Besides, in my current job at the public school I receive the whole month of October off and those other jobs are in private schools where the break does not come until later. Today I found a yoga teacher training course in Chiang Rai (north of my beloved Chiang Mai) which takes place in October and I signed up. And I decided that after I get Thailand out of my system I will move to Taiwan, where my good friends await for me. Somewhere in between, I will visit Southern Vietnam and, hopefully, Phuket too. Voila!

If I had read all this from somebody else even a few months ago I would have thought: “How do people afford living like that?” Now I know. You just do it.