The Power of Yes

Summertime is the most popular (and crowded!) time for people to take international trips and I recently returned from an incredible month overseas. A longtime friend and colleague recently made the bold decision to buy a house in her ancestral village in Italy, and when she said "come visit anytime" I took her at her word. Her generous invitation inspired me to spend two weeks traveling through Umbria and Tuscany: driving through the Apennine mountains, swimming in the Adriatic, visiting ancient cities, getting to to live in a small village and relax into an authentically Italian way of life. La Dolce Vida baby!

Like so many things in life, saying yes to this invitation opened more opportunities and about a month before I left for Italy, I was invited to attend an intimate gathering of somatic and tantric healers in Sweden. The dates didn't completely overlap with my Italian travel plans and if I decided to say yes again, I would have an extra week by myself to spend in any European city I liked. Yes may seem like the obvious answer, but my logistical mind was sitting in the driver's seat and I started to doubt if I was up for exploring a new foreign city by myself. It had been twenty years since I traveled alone and wasn't sure I was up for it. After a few days of meditation (and the encouragement of friends and family) the yes became clear and I began planning a solo week in Lisbon.

My yes began manifesting sweet synchronicities in Lisbon right away: my favorite Radiohead song playing in the metro, street art on the building next to my hotel with my name on it, going to a concert where the artist played 'California Love' and the entire audience serenaded me, calling out my home state. I call these little coincidences in life 'Flirting With The Universe'. When we soften our minds, our senses become move alive. We open to being fully present and can begin a dialogue (flirtatious or otherwise!) with the divine and life gives us little gifts. Saying yes made me open to these spiritual gifts. I gave myself the chance to strengthen this divine dialogue and continue to receive.

Travel itself is a spiritual experience. Not just because of the cathedrals or temples we visit, but because it offers something our modern lives rarely do: a sacred interruption.

When we leave behind the familiar, we temporarily loosen the grip of our routines, responsibilities, and identities. We say yes to things we might not at home and become a different version of ourselves, receptive to more. There is something healing about allowing ourselves to become beginners again, navigating new streets, tasting unfamiliar flavors, figuring out how to place a coffee order in a foreign language... and surrender to not knowing.

As my time in Lisbon ended and I prepared for the next chapter of my journey, I was buzzing with the magic of feeling connected. Connected to the divine, yes, but also to myself. That's the deeper invitation of travel: not simply to discover new places, but to remember new parts of ourselves. Whether your journey takes you across an ocean or just into a different rhythm at home, the practice is the same. Say yes to what calls you. Leave space for the unexpected. Pay attention to the subtle synchronicities that wink back at you. Let yourself become curious, present, and available to wonder.

Life is always speaking to us. Sometimes we just have to step outside the familiar long enough to hear it.