I have been missing the Reverb10 posts mostly because I have not felt called to answer them deeply. But there have been two I have liked, and I want to answer them together.
The December 22 prompt was: Travel How did you travel in 2010? How and/or where would you like to travel next year?
Today’s prompt is: Everything’s OK What was the best moment that could serve as proof that everything is going to be alright? And how will you incorporate that discovery into the year ahead?
Travel has defined so much of my life. I have been incredibly lucky to travel abroad, live abroad, and study abroad. I first left the country when I was 18 months old, then again in 8th grade, then again upon my graduation from college. I studied in France my second semester of my junior year and taught English in France the year between undergrad and law school.
But I have also had the joy and privilege to travel throughout North America. Since I have been self-employed, I have had the opportunity to travel around the United States to visit friends and family. I spent time getting to know my family and friends better, getting to understand how I fit with them. Traveling has opened my eyes to the world, to who I am, and to how I can best be with other people, here and abroad.
How does this tie into how I know that everything is going to be alright? That moment this year was the moment I was accepted to be a Fulbright Scholar and travel to New Zealand to study children’s representation in courts. My entire purpose for going to law school was to help children, to help families, to make the system better for all families and children. At that moment, I knew I would be given that opportunity. It also meant that I would have the opportunity to live abroad again next year.
Lawyers are not known for taking chances. We tend to be a risk averse profession. After all, we get paid to be risk averse, we get paid to consider all the horrific outcomes - we do not get paid to take chances and risk ourselves or our clients. But the opportunity to study in New Zealand is an opportunity to be non-lawyerly, to take the leap of faith that this is what te universe has in store for me and for the future of family law.
I hope that my work abroad makes a difference. I hope that I learn something wonderful about myself and the world, and that my yoga background provides me the insight to bring a new perspective. I know that I do not have to be stuck into the world that lawyers and society feel are “safe.” Even though one judge said to my dad, “isn’t it time for her to settle down?”, I know that my future lies elsewhere. I know that I have the opportunity to do something bigger than the traditional, to go outside the box and make a difference. A Fulbright is an opportunity to travel, but it is also an opportunity to do what I have always wanted to do.
Yoga has the tools to help give me the strength to “skip town” without feeling like I am skipping town. I know that this is right. I trust the universe, I trust my internal awareness, and I trust that the situation in which we are living can change. Travel and yoga have taught me that I need not be stuck in the risk-averse legal worldview. And now I get to live near penguins!
So, I knew that life would work out the moment I got that letter. and travel is where it always begins and ends for me in my life.
I hope you all have a happy holiday and know that life is unfolding exactly as it should. Many blessings this holiday season.
Namaste!
The December 22 prompt was: Travel How did you travel in 2010? How and/or where would you like to travel next year?
Today’s prompt is: Everything’s OK What was the best moment that could serve as proof that everything is going to be alright? And how will you incorporate that discovery into the year ahead?
Travel has defined so much of my life. I have been incredibly lucky to travel abroad, live abroad, and study abroad. I first left the country when I was 18 months old, then again in 8th grade, then again upon my graduation from college. I studied in France my second semester of my junior year and taught English in France the year between undergrad and law school.
But I have also had the joy and privilege to travel throughout North America. Since I have been self-employed, I have had the opportunity to travel around the United States to visit friends and family. I spent time getting to know my family and friends better, getting to understand how I fit with them. Traveling has opened my eyes to the world, to who I am, and to how I can best be with other people, here and abroad.
How does this tie into how I know that everything is going to be alright? That moment this year was the moment I was accepted to be a Fulbright Scholar and travel to New Zealand to study children’s representation in courts. My entire purpose for going to law school was to help children, to help families, to make the system better for all families and children. At that moment, I knew I would be given that opportunity. It also meant that I would have the opportunity to live abroad again next year.
Lawyers are not known for taking chances. We tend to be a risk averse profession. After all, we get paid to be risk averse, we get paid to consider all the horrific outcomes - we do not get paid to take chances and risk ourselves or our clients. But the opportunity to study in New Zealand is an opportunity to be non-lawyerly, to take the leap of faith that this is what te universe has in store for me and for the future of family law.
I hope that my work abroad makes a difference. I hope that I learn something wonderful about myself and the world, and that my yoga background provides me the insight to bring a new perspective. I know that I do not have to be stuck into the world that lawyers and society feel are “safe.” Even though one judge said to my dad, “isn’t it time for her to settle down?”, I know that my future lies elsewhere. I know that I have the opportunity to do something bigger than the traditional, to go outside the box and make a difference. A Fulbright is an opportunity to travel, but it is also an opportunity to do what I have always wanted to do.
Yoga has the tools to help give me the strength to “skip town” without feeling like I am skipping town. I know that this is right. I trust the universe, I trust my internal awareness, and I trust that the situation in which we are living can change. Travel and yoga have taught me that I need not be stuck in the risk-averse legal worldview. And now I get to live near penguins!
So, I knew that life would work out the moment I got that letter. and travel is where it always begins and ends for me in my life.
I hope you all have a happy holiday and know that life is unfolding exactly as it should. Many blessings this holiday season.
Namaste!
© 2010 Rebecca Stahl, all rights reserved
2 Quick things:
ReplyDelete1) You traveled out the country when you graduated high school, not college.
2) I not only trust in you, but I have absolute faith that you will grow in this new adventure, and when (if) you come back, you will continue to make a difference in all you do, both in yoga and the law.