Disclaimer

As I wrote about our day at Playa Rincon below, I got all choked up thinking about all kinds of blessings I've received. 

But I also got a little scared and a little sad.

So then I wrote this disclaimer.

Disclaimer:

Once again as I write about the amazing adventures we have been able to discover, I find myself hoping that my readers will not feel discouraged or sad or jealous. Really. That really bothers me when I write. Because I know what it feels like to read stuff like this and to think, “Dang! I wish I could do that.” Or “I could never afford to go there.” 

I remember those feelings so well. I remember the obstacles very clearly and how large they loomed and how impossible it all seemed. 

In fact I still have to deal with those feelings - like when I visit a beautiful resort right on the water and wonder if we'll ever be able to stay at a place like that again. And then I come home and drag myself up the stairs to our little studio apartment where I can hear the waves but can't see them - because this is what we can afford. This is what we have been able to make work for this season in our lives.

I am the first to admit that we have been greatly blessed - in so many ways. We have obviously been the beneficiaries of some wonderful good fortune and I am grateful. 

BUT… 

There have been tough choices. 

We have chosen to make some huge sacrifices. 

BECAUSE we have become convinced that it is worth it.

All of our situations are different, and our obstacles are different but… and this is what I wish I could say to my readers… 

An obstacle mentality can keep us stuck. 

And that the turning point for me was when we began to ask “What if…?” as a positive question rather than just a scary one. That was when we began to get creative in searching for opportunities.

So please, PLEASE don’t let my stories discourage you just because they are different than yours.  Please don't think that they are better than your stories.

Maybe you don’t need or want to change your story.  Lots of times I read someone else’s story and think it is so cool, but at the same time it may help me appreciate details in my own life that I hadn’t noticed before. Are there things in your life that you could appreciate or enjoy more than you do?

Or maybe you DO want to make some changes. Let me remind you that even huge change often starts with very small steps. Teeny, tiny steps. So, so many of our changes have come about by such tiny steps that I fight discouragement all along the way.  My friends could tell you about some of the times when I start whining about how my progress seems to be so terribly slow.

...

And then there is the matter of perspective...

Okay; it's true that I might not be too happy if this were my house. I suppose I'd be whining and complaining. And probably (hopefully) I would be working hard to make some "needed" changes. I mean this is one UGLY house! Beat-up! Run-down! 

But when I stop and think that it is only one small part of a much bigger picture (Can you find this house in the photo at top of page?) maybe I would remember that some things just might be worth putting up with for the privilege of having a room with a view!

Or not...

So maybe there are questions to consider... 

What could/should you do with that difficult part of your life?

That ugly spot?

Are there changes that you can and should make?

What sacrifices are you willing to make to produce those changes?

On the other hand, what other things do you want to hang onto?

Which things are worth the discomfort and/or inconvenience of living where you do?

What are you willing to live with for the sake of something else?

...

Dear readers, 

I hope you love your own stories. 

I mean that.

I mean I hope there are lots of things in your story that you already love - or that you want to learn to love.

But I also hope that you choose to love your story - in that you are willing to make it into something wonderful. Something better.