Going Back to Move Forward

I spent a week in my native country. As I landed, memories came rushing. My first thirty two years of life came back in seconds; school years, family gatherings, first love, first heart break, my favorite places, cherished memories that helped me in becoming the woman I am today. The purpose of this trip was to spend some time with family and friends before embarking in a new adventure on the other side of the world.

Every single moment in our lives makes a huge contribution to our present and how we see it. As I walked through the old streets where I grew up, I couldn’t help but to feel grateful for those days. Back then I wouldn’t even imagine what my life would turn out to be. There I was, a small town girl who enjoyed the simple things in life; a cool sunrise in the beach, the harmonious songs of the roosters every morning, long barefooted walks on the still moist soil, and the dish soap bubbles thrown to the sky using a hollow tree branch. I am made of those experiences.

Here I am, a still small town girl to whom family and true friends represent the Alpha and Omega. Many experiences have been added to my life story. Many professional credentials rest inside file cabinets waiting to be used only when necessary. Many dreams are still to be fulfilled. However, the smell of fresh sugar cane and my gatherings with that almost extinguished circle of wise women still drive my life. As I get ready to move forward and create a new reality, I had to go back to my roots to realize once more that the core of my true self resides on those days. As my grandmother used to say, “You learn, you grow, and you change but, even when you temporarily forget, you are always what your soul was meant to be.” Maybe it is in going back that we will recover our true soul’s purpose. I know I am ready to start writing some new pages on my book.