Overcoming grief and tragedy is one of the most difficult things in life.

So many people go through experiences like the death of a loved one or child and think they will never be able to have true healing and happiness in life. After my husband passed away, I took a year long sabbatical to Jamaica and it changed my life in so many ways.

Here are some ways that travel teaches us to overcome tragedy and loss:

Travel helps us to clear the clutter from the mind, which is absolutely essential to hearing your intuitive voice

By “clutter” I mean all the worry and the grief, the chores to be done, thinking about mundane things that fill our existence on a daily basis. It really takes meditation and a state of expectancy to hear that voice. Clearing the clutter and waiting for that “line” to open up to hear those messages is absolutely critical. Its channeling our desires and trying to find that healing so we can be on the road to recovery.  Travel allows us to get away from it all and to have solitary time in order to meditate.

Travel Teaches Us Not To Be Afraid

 

 

Travel shows us that there are gifts to be cherished in every aspect of life.

Jamaica is a picture-perfect paradise. Sandy beaches stretch for miles, guarded by swaying palms and coconut trees. The water somehow manages to be both clear and the deepest blue at the same time. Sunsets wash pastel pinks and peaches over red mud, overgrown green forests and white sand.

Maybe we feel safe when we’re home because it is familiar, rather than because it is truly void of danger. We all know that there are more car accidents per year than plane crashes, but I’ve never met someone more willing to fly than to take a trip to the store down the road.

Cocooning yourself in familiarity is a disservice to the wonderful, brave, empowered person you could become. Rest assured, the world is more beautiful than it is dangerous.

 

 

Travel taught me about courage and patience.

When we venture beyond our geographic limits, we find ourselves stretching beyond personal limits too. Most of the brave things I’ve done have been a direct result of putting myself in unfamiliar territory.

These experiences weren’t especially dangerous, but they are all things that took a bit of courage. And none of them would have happened in my small town.

I hiked the blue mountain peak, the highest point on the island. We lived in the mountains so we were close to one end of the Blue Mountains, with all its flora and fauna. I was able to survey the view below, which had magnificent vistas of beaches and sand. Flowering trees and plants that last for miles and miles can ignite your senses and allow you to forget the worries and the monotony of work.

 

Remarkably — and beautifully,  — life goes on after tragedy and loss.

Travel in the midst of grief and loss has taught me that humans are wonderfully resilient. We feast, work, laugh and love in nearly every circumstance. This is beautiful. It reflects both the strength of the human spirit and the stark fact that everyday life goes on, no matter the circumstances.

This is a big, beautiful, dangerous world, and I don’t believe we can escape the losses that pile up from time to time. Instead, my aim is to celebrate as many places as I can while I can.

Because the more I know — the more I travel — the less I am afraid.