My Vision Board and Bank
In the fall of 2015, I came across a post on Instagram “BALI BLISS GIVEAWAY” and the description read:
“all-expense paid Yoga and Relaxation Retreat in Bali. Two winners receive roundtrip airfare with ground transportation to the small Oceanside Village of Padang Bai. Enjoy a 7-night stay at The Bloo Lagoon Eco-Resort on an Organic Farm, three meals a day, a boat ride with snorkeling excursion, a hiking trip up Mount Agung, twice a day yoga, plenty of free time and a Traditional Balinese Spiritual Water Cleansing Ceremony performed at the Pura Silayukti Temple.”
So, I put it into the universe, I AM WINNING THIS TRIP!
I knew from the moment I read the post, the trip was mine. From the moment I read about the contest I had a “winner’s mentality”. There were three easy ways to enter. A simple SHARE on Instagram which was free. A purchase from a sponsor of Yoga Leggings, and let’s be honest – there is no such thing as too many leggings. That entry was just $66 and then the purchase of a Mala, which was less than $50. I didn’t think, hey for $106 I can have three “chances” to win, I thought – I am literally going on the trip of a lifetime for $106, that’s called THE LAW OF ATTRACTION!
The UNIVERSE is always listening.
As the months passed, leading up to the day of the drawing, I would tell everyone I saw that I was going to Bali. Everyone thought I was crazy but, I read the book The Secret, and I knew how this worked, so I continued to put it out there. Never once doubting my good fortune!
Then it happened, the announcement was made. Two winners…neither were me. Yes, you read it right! I didn’t win…
I was crushed for about 2.5 seconds, then I decided that sulking was not the energy I wanted to put out there about something that gave me so much joy to just visualize. So, I took to Social Media and posted the following,
“Congratulations to the winners of the #BaliBlissGiveaway – enjoy every moment of your trip and I look forward to seeing all of the great pics!”
I tagged the winners and followed their Instagram accounts. I refused to be anything but happy for them and that was that! I knew that although I wasn’t the winner of this particular trip, that didn’t mean I wasn’t meant to go. I put my best self forward and moved on. I continued to use my little “visualization bank” and throw my spare change into it, as I looked forward to using it when the time came!
The Bali Bliss Giveaway was in the past, almost two weeks passed and I was focused on other things…when my phone rang at about 9am from an unknown number. I let it go to voicemail since I was at work. They left a message:
“Hello Dee-Dee, I am contacting you regarding your entry in the Bali Bliss Giveaway. I hope you are sitting. One of the winners had a conflict with the dates of the trip. We held a second drawing and your name was pulled. We need to know if you will be accepting the prize before we make an official announcement, so please contact me back at …. Thank you! Congratulations”…
Well, I let out a scream SO LOUD that my coworkers ran back to see what was happening. I replayed the message again, on speaker, to make sure I heard it right. “Dee-Dee, YOU WON!” Nikki said, hugging me. As I stood there, I was floored. I had accepted the fact that it wasn’t my destiny at that time and then, the Universe DELIVERS!
Just… Like… That…
Just a short three months later, I began my 28-hour journey to Bali that changed my life… There is a lesson in here that is good for everyone. Stay positive. Look for that silver lining because there is absolutely something to be happy about always! My motto: when you feel down – bring someone else UP, that will change your focus, attitude, and energy!
You can read all the books, watch all the movies and see all the pictures, but Bali is best experienced firsthand, in the flesh.
Flight attendants, stewardesses, captains, pilots etc… are unsung heroes. I have so much respect for the work they put in on these 15+ hour flights.
I remember what it was like to live without wifi and it didn’t bother me one bit. Nothing like disconnecting to remind you that there is so much going on when you actually look up.
Despite what I’ve always been told, what I’ve always believed to be, what I have even told others about myself, I absolutely CAN be alone, in silence, without stimulation from anyone or anything. I have a new respect for the term “me-time”.
Sometimes you just need to have a good cry. Not because you’re sad. Or happy. Or scared. Or troubled. Just because it feels good to cry it out, whatever it is.
The term “sipping tea” in Bali ACTUALLY means, to sip on the beverage “tea”. Duly noted.
In accordance with #6, the tea served at the Spiral Spa at the Bloo Lagoon is by far the most delicious tea in the world (I took a survey). I will spend the rest of my life trying to replicate it.
And to piggyback on that, drinking hot tea in the sun when it’s about 90° F is absolutely acceptable.
Know this, makeup isn’t designed for the climate in Bali and Mother Nature does her part to make you glow naturally so if I could do it again, I’d leave my makeup home.
Speaking of leaving things home, I’d also leave behind about 90% of what I packed, some things you find out the hard way. Less clothes, if any, feels best.
Happiness is watching a new sunrise.
I love listening to love stories. Everyone has one. No matter what the ending is, a love story is a love story.
You can learn something from just about anyone if you’re willing to be the student. This trip afforded me so many teachers and lessons that can’t be found in a book.
Yoga (OFF the mat) counts too.
Showering outside, when it is hot feels amazing. Add some cool rain and a breeze, you will never want to shower any other way. *looking up ordinances for outdoor showers in my town!
You can try all you want to help someone find comfort when they’re struggling with separation anxiety, but they are ultimately responsible for letting go and getting on, not you.
We are all dealing with SOMETHING! SMILE anyway.
No matter what anyone tells you, trust your gut. Go and see what intrigues you.
Do not assume because you are open to new things and friends, that everyone is like you, tread lightly, allow others to let you in and don’t force yourself on anyone.
No matter how many times you SAY the words THANK YOU, when you are so deeply grateful you will continue to seek out ways to say it without words.
When you see how minimal and simple people are living around the world, without what you consider a BASIC need, something in you changes.
Everyone has boundaries. (Even the most ridiculous to you can be catastrophic to another!) If you accidentally overstep, just apologize, it doesn’t mean you agree with them, it just means you won’t allow their misery into your paradise.
Waking up to nature, I can get used to that.
If you ever get a chance to enjoy a massage in tiny room carved out of the side of a mountain, with nothing between you and the earth, DO IT. It’s intoxicating.
I still have work to do, but I’m loving my undoing.
Dee-Dee Kanhai, aka “The Spice of Suburbia”, was a big city girl for 25 years who was transplanted to the Suburbs of Northern New Jersey. This relocation led to her “undoing” and with that, the discovery of her true self. Besides being a wife and mother to a teenage daughter and toy Chihuahua, Dee-Dee works in finance and owns a small Etsy Shop @LoveTheUndoing, where she sells heart-made jewelry, crystals, and other whimsical crafts. Dee-Dee is a student of life, teacher of meditation, practicing yogi and a mystical moon child.