UPPER FALLS
Me and my siblings recently came from a trip to Alberta Canada. A place I regret taking for granted for a long time. I obviously knew about the place having been living in Canada but I never took interest in visiting, until recently. I had no expectations, but even if I had the highest one, it did not disappoint. It is by far the most beautiful place I have ever seen in my entire life! We were all in awe for the whole trip. The majesty of the place is incomparable. We were running out of words to describe the beauty that we were seeing. We will be back and hopefully very soon.
Now, back to normal life. I started reading the book Missed fortune 101 by Douglas R. Andrew. A little backstory, I worked for 7 years for a company and then resigned and worked for another one. I then called my previous employer to request a transfer of my pension only to be surprised that I did not apply for my pension at all! I can’t believe that all these years that I was with the company, I did not pay attention to my pension. So, since then, I have been looking for ways on how to catch up building my retirement money.
After our trip, I remembered that I bought Douglas Andrew’s book last year. I just started reading it again. I am convinced that this is the answer to my prayers. It is a lot of information to learn and apply but it is very doable. I am commited to getting the lessons here applied in my finances.
On our recent trip, we hiked to see the lower and upper falls of the Johnston Canyon in Alberta. Getting to the lower falls was easy, but the climb to the upper falls was a struggle for me. We were given a short time to do the hike. The tour guide suggested that we just go to the lower falls unless we are willing to run to get to the upper one. I am curious to see the upper falls and my siblings were really interested in going, so we did. At this point, I was holding my pee and was very exhausted. I almost can’t physically and mentally take another step. At that moment my mind was screaming NO so loudly, I literally made it one step at a time. While I was taking those steps, I realized that this is a reflection of where I am in life right now. The upper falls represents my goals, I definitely want to get there, and I know the steps to take that will bring me there, but it is an uphill battle. A battle that I need to just go through, one heavy step at a time. When we got to the upper falls, it was a relief! We finally made it.
I was very proud that we made it there, but, we missed a lot of good views along the way. Because there was a time limit given to us, we had to rush to get to the falls. There were so many beautiful views along the way that we only had glanced at and briefly appreciated because we were too focused on getting to the top. I realized that this is exactly how I am living most of my life up to this point. I am too eager to get my goals checked off that I don’t always take the time to appreciate and enjoy the seamingly small blessings I have everyday. Like chatting while driving with my siblings on our way to the gorcery store, talking to my parents on messenger, having meals to eat, able to go for a walk with no aches and pains and in awe of the beauty of my surroundings. I need to put a time frame for when I want my goals met, but it doesn’t have to be too short that I miss all the little joys along the way.
Our tour guide shared a quote to us which said, ´The journey is the destination’. I hope to remember this everyday.
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