New Perspective for 2022 while Traveling back to the Middle East

"Life is so uncertain, so FACE your FEARS and just TRAVEL!" this has been my mantra whenever I feel like I am engulfed with fear and anxiety going out from my comfort zone here in the pristine island of Seychelles.

My 2021 has taught me so many great lessons in life and what hit me big time was the death of my father. In his last fatherly advice, he told me to see the world and I shall bring him with me in spirit. My father was supposedly be travelling to Seychelles had his situation allowed him to onboard but deep inside my heart, I knew he wanted to see the grandeur of God's blessings, one of which he loved to travel around.

Travelling during the pandemic can be very risky if not scary yet it truly gave me a NEW PERSPECTIVE for my 2022. At the end of the day, when we die, we have so many things to be grateful for in life because we have seen and emerged ourselves into the beauty hidden of the unknown. Can we truly assure ourselves that despite staying safe and healthy we would live for eternity? physically not but spiritually yes, so I believed in a most transcendental way.

Anyhow, I took the courage to travel for the second time to the Middle East ALONE and my husband has to understand I NEED a "ME TIME." It came to a point to settle our marriage crisis, I had to keep my DISTANCE and SPACE even for 12 days, it may not be enough but direly needed to what I call my "PEACEFUL TIME for MYSELF."

I was so excited to be on board via Etihad Airways whereby I was given a complimentary ticket for the biggest event in the Middle East, Expo2020 which was held in Dubai. There was a free bus ride and all we needed to show was our ticket, however, due to spiking cases as omicron was also very active during my trip, I cancelled my Expo plan but truly enjoyed my time in Abu Dhabi, getting lost in the middle of the desert and walking for two hours, asking for directions towards the Corniche Area.

It was a trip I would be forever grateful that I took the courage to be a solo traveller because for the past 6 years, travelling with my husband while he did all the talking at the immigration ( well at least here in Seychelles upon entry) I was so dependent how it would be travelling alone this time. I have realized that I have let myself be so dependent even on small things like packing our pieces of luggage and all I did was look at how he put everything in order.

Travelling solo has the great advantage of being independent and able to survive on your own regardless of the situation because you are solely dependent on YOURSELF.

January 1, 2022, that Sand Dunes Adventure at Al Q'uaa

I may have worked in Qatar for three years but I rarely had a real experience of what it was to walk through and to lie down on the dunes, to feed the camels and to enjoy the calmness of the Arabian Desert. There was a magical spell that drown me into it that I hardly took a video because I don't want to spoil the solemnity of the place.

Having witnessed the sunset on top of the highest dunes, gave me a great feeling of serenity while heaven opens up for that PEACEFUL moment for myself. I felt like I have conquered my fears and the uncertainties of everything else and at that moment alone what mattered was my communion with myself and with the place.

My Travel Adventure Gave me a New Perspective about Myself!

My travel adventure was so personal to me that I needed it to reunite with what I had lost. For 6 years of being so tolerant with everyone around me thinking that it was the best thing to do, later did I realize that it led me to lose my identity. The very practical example of travelling ALONE scared the hell out of me not because I am alone but because the inner voices of my younger self telling me the world is so scary, considering the pandemic not to mention venturing out in the desert, it's like beating my head against a stone wall. Even my family told me not to travel because it is risky, scary, dangerous, wasting money and so many other things.

I SHUT ALL OF THEM and took the courage to tell my husband that I NEEDED THIS TRAVEL FOR MYSELF. It was so empowering for me to finally show them that I wanted myself back and that I am responsible for my life. I am also very grateful to our ma @TigerLily/Dreemsteem and dada @BluefinStudios during our Uptrennd University whereby they both have enlightened me towards the direction of working for myself especially during my marital crisis. That lowest point of my life when ma @TigerLily shared that song from Casting Crowns "Just Be Held" until today whenever I felt like being dragged back to one of the darkest hours of my life, her words of wisdom always resonate and I'm ready to face my challenges again. I am forever grateful! She is such a wonderful soul and a blessing to everyone with whom she has touched each of our lives as she did with mine.