Kia Ora! (That’s how we say hello in New Zealand) I have made it to my final destination, my forever home, and it feels soooo good!
When I left Canada, I aimed to find my new forever home, the country that felt more aligned with my soul. I trusted that my new forever home would be revealed to me in divine timing. So, I decided to go with the flow in the meantime, and the flow was directing me to France. Even though I knew France wasn’t it, it was where I was guided to go. So, I went. As a tourist, I could only stay in France for 3 months, so I decided to spend the 3 months growing my coaching practice and then wait for the next sign from the Universe. That was daring and not something the old Sara would’ve done. Besides winging lesson plans as a teacher, I needed to have my life planned out (preferably years in advance) in order to feel at ease.
Instead, here I was, letting go of the need to plan and just trusting that the Universe would guide me.
About a month and a half into my stint in France, a friend from Canada sent me a link to apply for a visa to either New Zealand or Australia. The requirements were 1) Being under the age of 35 and 2) Being Canadian. I’ve never mentioned visiting either of these countries to my friend, but I took this as a sign from the Universe. Because I’m a huge Lord of the Rings fan, New Zealand was already on my list of places to visit. So, I started filling out the application to New Zealand. Right before I hit pay, I paused and said,
“Universe, give me a clear sign this is where you need me to go.” And I left the application unsubmitted.
That afternoon, I decided to have lunch at a cute beach town. I arrive at the restaurant and the woman ahead of me is telling the host she wants to have a drink at one of the tables by the water. The host then tells her, “I’m sorry, madame. The tables are reserved for people having meals.” So, the woman turns to me and asks if I plan to have a meal. I tell her yes, and she asks if she can sit with me so she can have a drink. I say sure.
We get to talking and sharing our stories. She’s sad because she’s packing up her childhood beach home because her parents have sold it (hence the drink) and I tell her that I’ve left Canada indefinitely and am travelling with no particular agenda. My food arrives and she insists on taking a picture so that I have a memory of this day.
She asks me where I plan to visit after France and I tell her I’m not sure but Indonesia, India, and Finland are on the list. Then she says, “Oh my God! Do you know where you must visit, and I would live there if I could?!” And I say, “Tell me!” And she goes, “New Zealand.”
I smile and ask, “Do you want to hear a funny story?”
I proceed to tell her about this unsubmitted application and asking the Universe for a clear sign and she smiles and says, “I guess I’m your sign!” And I laugh and respond, “I think you are!”
I finished my meal (which was delicious) and we parted ways. I walked to the beach, rolled up my jeans and walked in the shallows. The water was a little chilly but not enough to keep me away. As I walked, I had this huge smile on my face because I couldn’t believe I got my clear sign. When I got back home, I paid for my application and then a few days later got my visa.
But how do I know this is my forever home?
I didn’t go to New Zealand right after France. Instead, I went to Bali for two months. Even though I got a clear sign that New Zealand was where I needed to go, I resisted. I didn’t want to be in New Zealand during the cold winter months, so I told myself I’d go in December, during their summer. So what to do until then? Travel, of course!
Then, the old Sara came back. You know, The Planner.
I started mapping out all my adventures while trying to find my forever home. I decided Bali would be my next destination. I wanted to do my Yoga Teacher Training in Bali, so I decided to go there first. After my 2 months there, I’d go to Vietnam, Thailand, and India for Diwali. After that, I’d head to Finland to see the Northern Lights. THEN I’d go to New Zealand. It was all perfectly planned out.
In Bali, I connected with a podcast host about being on her podcast. She asked me some questions to see if I’d be a good fit, and one question she asked me was, “So you left Canada to find your forever home. Love that. How will you know when you’ve found it?” She asked me the question I had asked myself in the early days of leaving Canada but not lately. I had no idea how I would know. Would it feel right? Would I get a clear sign from the Universe telling me, “_________ IS YOUR FOREVER HOME!”? But the answer that came to me at that moment was the truth. I said, “Actually, I’ve learned that Home is wherever I am.” She loved that answer. But the truth of the answer didn’t sink in until that evening, when I was walking the streets of Bali, back to my Airbnb with my groceries, scooters whizzing past me, dogs running around barking, people BBQing in the streets, etc., completely unfazed. I had adapted so well to living in this foreign country that it felt like home. And that’s when the truth of my truth hit me.
Home really is wherever I am. I don’t need to look for it. I’ve already found it within me.
I didn’t need to search anymore. I didn’t need to travel anymore. I had my answer from the Universe. New Zealand is where I’m meant to go. My Ego just didn’t like the idea of settling down. My Ego wanted the travelling and the experiencing. And I was caught up in my Ego until it became clear to me that I got my wish. I achieved what I had set out to achieve: my new forever home.
For those who know me, I’m truly and deeply a homebody. Travelling is enjoyable, but I couldn’t do it indefinitely. I thrive when I have roots when I have a home. So, really, filling my calendar with places to visit wasn’t me at all. It was someone I was trying to be. Someone with the “freedom” to be unrooted.
The more I thought about New Zealand, the more excited I became. The land of Lord of the Rings. The country whose population is slightly bigger than Toronto’s. They’re so small that they don’t have Amazon Prime. They don’t have an Apple store. That’s wild to me! But also, so me. As much as I enjoyed the luxuries of Amazon Prime and big-city living, I was excited to be at the ends of the Earth, in a small country, surrounded by Nature.
Years ago, I used to tell the love of my life, “I wish I could live on a mountain, somewhere with no cell phone reception. I don’t want to be accessible to everyone and everything all the time. I want to disconnect. I want to have a vegetable garden. I want a farm.” Well, I finally got my wish. And it feels so good.
So, this is the finale. All my world travels end here. Literally, the end of the earth, and I’m totally okay with that. Now that the distraction of travelling is over, I am focusing on my soul’s dreams: Building my coaching practice, owning a farm with rescue farm animals, having another dog (who I will name Samwise Gamgee, “Sam” for short), hosting healing retreats for women, marriage and 3 babies. Stay tuned for how the dream unfolds!
