Working on vacation, or vacationing while working. 'Workation' is actually a combination of the words work and vacation. It is sometimes called remote working. Remote work means not working in the office; so it can also be done at home. The meaning of a workation is that you are both away from the office and away from home.
The past month has been a chaos of movements. From Amsterdam to Italy, via friends in Portugal to Miami, and with various stops back to Italy, where I am still staying in an Airbnb because my house is not ready yet. It makes me feel restless, but I know that peace will soon come; when I can finally move to my Tiny House and start decorating it. The end is in sight. In the meantime, I have daily WhatsApp contact with a friend in Hawaii who is temporarily homeless. There is a housing crisis since corona because many Americans have moved from the mainland to the islands, making both purchasing or renting a place impossible or unaffordable. My friend lives in her car and is completely in survival mode, with no hope of things getting better. Several coaching clients are about to give up their homes to travel in a motorhome and become entrepreneurs. Although that is a conscious choice for them, it also causes stress. All this makes you think. What does (at) home mean? Is home a physical place? Is it 'where the heart is'? Is it where your laptop automatically recognizes the WiFi? 😜 A few reflections for this month, so that you can determine what (at) home means to you.
Everyone enjoys watching those reality TV shows where a couple with a romantic idea emigrates to a far-off country to fix up a ruin. They often have no idea what they are getting into and sometimes don't even speak the language. And here I am, car fully loaded, on my way to Puglia, Italy... Planning to live there for the next 9 months, perhaps longer, and to supervise three construction projects. Fortunately, I already speak some Italian, but there will be plenty of challenges. My main question at the moment, however, is more personal: am I traveling towards something, or do I want to get away from something? On the one hand, I want to get away from the messy breakup in Amsterdam (unfortunately the conscious uncoupling did not turn out to be so conscious after all...) and recover on my land in Italy. But on the other hand I also really want to be THERE, surrounded by my olive trees, enjoying them as long as I can, and try to save them with all my energy and creativity. I want to build a new base, connect with the earth, and just BE. I want to create a place where others can also 'land'. Will you join me on this journey?
When I found out that the olive trees on my TinyTrullo land are infected with the deadly Xylella virus, I wrote this blog, hoping I could find a solution. Many people responded with concern, others came up with possible solutions, and some helped by adopting an olive tree. Those adoptions help to finance the various experiments.
I've always been different. A loner. A thinker. I haven't always felt understood. Never really belonged anywhere. Didn't want to belong. Maybe I told myself that's what I wanted, because I didn't understand the social 'rules' and how people interact with each other. Over the years I learned the 'codes', but they always felt strange to me, like I was learning the rules of a game I didn't want to play anyway. When I tried to be like others I didn't feel happy and besides, I never managed to blend in anyway. Later I discovered how I could turn my differences and previous 'weaknesses' into my strengths. Now I can be completely my authentic self. Many special people have felt like outsiders when they were young (and often still do today). What if we no longer see our authenticity as a 'disability', but instead discover its power and learn how to use it? This Inspiration Shot gives some tips that may also be useful for the kids around us (and our 'inner child').
The past three months have been hectic. I got corona, one of my father's caretakers suddenly left, I had to deal with the end of a complicated years-long relationship, lost my suitcase with ALL my clothes and found out that my olive trees are infected with a deadly disease. In addition, I continued to have problems with people I hired through an agency and had to transfer a number of projects for the fifth time(!). Of course, there were also nice things; I bought another apartment in Italy, am in the early stages of a new relationship, and enjoyed two parties for my birthday. In the meantime, my work as a book-writing coach also continued and I helped four people to finish their books. All this while traveling through 10 countries on 3 continents, organizing 4 retreats, attending 2 conferences and supervising 2 construction projects in Italy. This was quite a lot, even for me in just three months! How do you keep your energy constant while everything changes around you? Some tips in this Inspiration shot.
Conscious uncoupling is a new, more conscious way to end your relationship. You go from the ‘story’ level to the helicopter view. For example, not only the reason why the relationship ended but also the beautiful memories and experiences are looked at. The relationship is honored by trying to turn resentment into wisdom and lessons learned. It’s about how to heal, reflect and move on in the kindest and most productive way possible. You can do this with your ex, but if he doesn’t want to cooperate, you can also do it alone.
When I bought my olive grove in Puglia, I had of course heard the stories about the deadly bacterium Xylella, which has already killed all olive trees in the south of Italy. But everyone in my area said/hoped that things wouldn’t turn bad, that the deadly disease would not reach our part of Puglia, or that a solution would soon been found. So I did what all the locals did, and did not think about Xylella; instead I just enjoyed my beautiful, centuries old trees.
How many people do you know? And how many people know you? What is the ratio between these two numbers? In my case, more people know me than the other way around. This is because for years I have put a lot of time and energy into sharing inspiration and tips in many different ways, and I have been quite visible. Recently I noticed again the power of that network that I have built. On social media, many people still look for a 'quick fix', to sell their book or new online program, for example. But that's not how it works. Just like in offline friendships, in the online world you have to invest long-term, make real contacts, look for win-win-win situations, and above all: be yourself. This inspiration shot shares some unexpected benefits of a large and loyal network.
After recovering from the post-Covid energy dip (which took longer than I thought), and some other hiccups/dips, I feel like there is a new quality in my life. I have had to slow down quite a lot in the past 2 months or so, which gave me time to practice surrender and being in the moment. I want to be able to listen to my heart even more. The most important thing for me now is to live with my heart open. It has been scary for so long. Scared to be vulnerable, scared to be hurt. Yet pain is part of life. Even with my adventurous life full of great things, I cannot enjoy everything fully with a closed heart. That’s why recently, in my beloved Puglia, Italy, I got a tattoo of a small heart on my heart; to remind myself every day to live with an open heart. In this inspiration shot, I would like to share some things that may help you to follow your heart too.
