Surrendering Attachment

I have wanted to live in Spain since I was 20. I was very close to falling short of that dream. I submitted a 30-page business plan and secured two Spanish work contracts, only to be rejected without explanation. Then, I applied for a non-lucrative visa and encountered countless roadblocks. I had to complete three background checks, send hundreds of emails, take two trips to Chicago, and spend thousands of dollars.

After 11 months, I decided to ​surrender any attachment​ to the outcome and start applying for a Guatemalan visa.

Within days, my passport arrived in the mail. I left the envelope in my car. Later, I went to make sure my passport was in one piece. I opened it up, and a Spanish visa was affixed to one of the pages. I let out a yell through a smile.

When we start letting go, the universe opens up to meet us. Life becomes more fluid and joyful.

Embracing Fear

Chances are, a scary thing awaits you now, perhaps in the form of a hard conversation. As Jung said, “Where the fear is, there is your task.” The moment we decide to do something scary, our survival brain comes online. It can hijack our entire human experience based on stored sensations and biological responses. Anticipatory anxiety rarely lives up to real-time threats.

Fear is part compass, part safety mechanism. If we can’t stomach a few moments of discomfort, we face the quiet desperation of safe passage. Sit with the fear. Don't make it wrong; thank your system for protecting you. Then, lean in with excitement and feel curiosity about how everything plays out. As someone who has long teetered on the tightrope between stagnation and creation (and still does), I urge you to do what makes you feel alive.

Find your art, and don't let society define what that means.