3 Life Lessons Learned from Asking “Why Not?”
Possibilities appear that you were too blind to see.
Dear Fellow Traveler:
Travel to other cultures has always been my passion and dream. When I was younger, I thought being a travel writer would be the ultimate career. Someone pays me to travel and write? Where do I sign up?
Leading a nomadic lifestyle never became my reality, but I have been fortunate to travel around the world.
One trip in particular stands out. The year I turned the big 6–0, I decided to fling caution to the wind and attend a women’s retreat in Bali. I knew several people who were going, so I felt comfortable traveling to the other side of the globe.
I learned a lot about myself and the common thread of kindness that people share with strangers. Please allow me to share three life lessons I learned by asking myself, “Why not?”
Life Lesson #1 — Don’t let fear make the decision.
I have always had a conversation in my head with Fear — that voice that sounds like it knows everything, but all it recommends is that I play small.
Playing small does not take you half way around the world. Asking “Why not?” is the energy that propelled me to say yes (and hearing my life clock ticking in the background).
“If not now, when?” suddenly become my mantra.
There is no room for Fear if you are aware of time slipping away. Fear always counsels you to make the safe choice, not risk anything, and definitely not board a direct flight to Hong Kong.
Life Lesson #2 — The world is full of kind strangers.
As a middle-age, white woman, I was a bit hesitant to see the sights in Hong Kong during my two day stay.
After arriving at the hotel, enjoying a quiet night’s sleep, I woke up the next morning with plans to see the “Big Buddha,” a gigantic statue built on one of the many hills surrounding Hong Kong.
After visiting the site and listening to the chanting monks holding a prayer service, it was time to return to my hotel.
The only problem was — there were no taxis available.
I followed a line of people who waited for the bus, but I wasn’t sure if it would take me back to the hotel. After asking several people, who either didn’t understand or didn’t know the answer, I heard a voice behind me that said, “That’s not the right bus.”
I turned around and saw a young couple behind me. After I told them the name of my hotel, they said they were going the same way. We had a lovely time visiting on the bus and their kindness renewed my faith in humankind.
There were many other acts of kindness that I experienced that are too numerous to name here. When given the opportunity, people will be kind.
Life Lesson #3 — Connect from the heart
The final lesson came unexpectedly on my last day in Ubud. The retreat was over and I had spent the morning writing on my iPad, sipping from a cup of chai.
It was time for lunch, and the Why Not Restaurant called to me. It seemed a fitting ending to my time in Bali.
Remember - asking myself, “Why not?” is what led me here.
After I sat down and ordered a veggie burger, I heard my name from across the street. It was my friend, Heather, who had spent the morning enjoying a massage.
Eating lunch with a dear friend, sitting in this particular restaurant, was the perfect bookend to my trip. But it wasn’t until I noticed the signs around the restaurant that I finally understood why the owners named the place, “Why Not.”
On the tables that faced the street, each section of wood had a different question etched into the surface.
Why not enjoy life?
Why not be happy?
Why not love?
Why not be grateful?
Simple words that asked deep questions that called to the best of the human spirit.
Why don’t we enjoy life? Why don’t we love more? Why aren’t we grateful?
Instead of staying stuck in the questions, I learned to live in the answers. When I listened to myself and followed my dreams, the voice of Fear is only a distant whisper. Possibilities open up as your mind expands to consider “Why not?”
You might just find yourself in a small restaurant on the other side of the planet, having discovered that people the world over have the same need to be seen, valued, and loved.
To your well-being,
Kathryn