I opened Facebook this morning and at the top there was a notification of a new feature showing what I’ve posted on this day in years past. The first one was ‘on this day last year’, but then I also saw a bit further down, ‘on this day 4 years ago’. It was something I’d written today, 4 years ago, and was quite momentous in what it foretold. Let me share…
2nd April 2011
A few months ago, as I was returning home from a trip to Melbourne, I was thinking about how much I enjoy traveling, photography, and blogging. I was thinking about how enjoyable it would be to combine them all into one activity, and actually earn some money doing something I really enjoy.
I thought about how awesome it would be to have a 4WD and go traveling to those out-of-the-way places that most people never see, and take photos of the things that most people never take photos of.
I visualized myself sitting by the 4WD as the sun was setting, watching the colours change across the ruggedly beautiful landscape, and taking photos of it all. It was a wonderful feeling to imagine this as my reality, and I felt that I would love it if it WAS my reality.
Since then I’ve explored some ideas about travel and photography and blogging, but they’ve all been in my head, with nothing actually written down, and no firm plans or actions put into motion.
But then today I received my 2nd award since 2009 for the best travel blog of Australia and New Zealand. Considering that I haven’t even been focusing my blog on travel, to win an award for it is just amazing.
But it’s also helped me realize that I really should move forward with making this blog more about travel, because that’s what it wins awards for! Obviously I’ll have to do more traveling, and focus my blog posts on my experiences and the photos that I’ll be taking. But it also means I should consider getting that 4WD…
There have been other signs that I’ve been doing the wrong thing for my future…
Over the past 3-4 years I’ve received a hefty number of demerit points on my drivers license from going too fast. Over the past few weeks, I’ve been getting frustrated about why the fast lanes in traffic have immediately become the slow lanes as soon as I changed lanes into them, and when I change lanes again into the fast lane it immediately becomes slow again.
When this happened to me again in Melbourne today, I realized the universe is telling me something. I nodded, thanked the universe, and said “Ok, I get it.”
I’m going too fast, and I need to slow down, but since it’s all about my car and my travel with it, I think I’m in the wrong car for the direction my life needs to go.
So I’m going to explore changing my car and getting that 4WD that’s been on my mind. I feel like it will be a catalyst leading into an entirely new life, one that will bring me a lot more fulfilment.
After writing the above, I started looking for a 4WD, and I ended up purchasing the FJ Cruiser in July 2011, but due to a huge tsunami that damaged Toyota’s manufacturing plants in Japan, it wasn’t built and delivered until September 2011. In June I met my now wife, and she was privy to the initial excitement I had about the FJ and my purchase of it a month after I met her. She moved from Melbourne to Canberra to join me during the same week that I was able to pick up my new 4WD.
On this day, of all days, it’s a very timely reminder for me because I’m in the middle of thinking about selling my 4WD so that I can get a cheaper car instead and focus on developing my wealth. Today’s reminder of my life’s messages 4 years ago was the clincher that made me realise I need to keep the 4WD.
There’s no signs telling me I should do something different, like there was 4 years ago. In fact, there’s signs saying I should keep the FJ, particularly the assurance that I could re-lease the vehicle later this year, when I previously had been told I couldn’t.
The signs are saying keep my 4WD, and this reminder of why I got it in the first place was another sign helping me stay aligned with the path I should be on. The 4WD is part of my life. The experiences I have in it, and where it allows me to go, is part of my life’s journey.
So it stays. I feel happy about that.
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