On Writing, Travel & Our 80-Year-Old Selves

I’m writing a book.  I’ve been fairly low-key about it, so many of you probably haven’t heard. But some of you are in it.

 

I like to say I started writing this book almost a year ago when the sludge from the pandemic began to cement its grip around our ankles.

 

When I needed a break from the mad pivoting I’d done from coaching in Nicaragua to coaching on Zoom. I decided to divert myself from fears and stress and replace them with the pursuit of my passion: Writing.

 

But the truth is, I began this book close to 10 years ago before I became too busy with business. I was living in Australia and one night, I began rifling through my old journals from when I had lived in the UK, studying, traveling, and running amok through Europe.

 

A glass of wine down and the nostalgia from reading about my past had become too much. I wanted to tell the stories.

 

Not just travel stories that shared where I had been and what I had seen, (because really… who cares?  My mom, maybe).

 

No, I wanted to tell the stories of the life lessons I had learned through my first 7 years of travel and living overseas.  The life lessons we are all meant to learn in some way with the time we have here.

 

Lessons of love, of life. Of suicide and heartache.  Of pure, innocent joys and bouncing belly laughs.

 

Of our crippling fears and cutting decisions that shape us.  Of adventure and awe, and happiness in the truest sense of the word.

 

Lessons that teach us who we really are, what we need, what we want, and why we’re here.  Lessons that carve our character.

 

The book I’m writing won’t provide answers, but it will strike chords with those who have experienced the deep, heart-beating feels from the infinite turns of this beautiful life.

 

At least, that’s my aim in writing this book.  That my travel stories connect with words that incite a nodding smile, or words that purse lips as tears trickle.

 

Not too long ago, my editor asked me who was I writing this book for?

 

I had been struggling with some of the editing – worried my words might offend, but also worried I wasn’t authentically giving voice to my own story.

 

Back and forth I danced in my mind with several potent sections.

 

Why does this part of the story matter to me, and how should I tell it true? Who are my readers, and what will they seek from my story?

 

I thought about her question for a bit and considered the specific people I knew would be reading.

 

And then I decided . . . I’m writing this book for my 80-year-old self.   

 

When I am 80, and I reread the familiar words, and relive the familiar tales, I am going to know the truth.

 

I will know if I’ve been too shy with my words and held back.  I’ll know if I wrote to please people, whose expectations and judgments existed only in my mind. I am going to know if there was a deeper story to tell.

 

Yes, my 80-year-old self will see through any bullshit I write today. She will wish I would have strengthened my voice with fearlessness in my words.

 

Not that she’d be an asshole about it. I imagine my 80-year-old self as a little more chill than I am now when I over-think life. I imagine she’d be proud of me.

 

So that’s who I am writing my book for. My 80-year-old self. And I don’t want to let her down.

 

And, of course, I hope you all will read it too. 

 

 – Christy

 

Ready to live your own great story? Join my Mind, Body & Soul Retreat here in my Nicaraguan paradise. Here’s a sneak peek at what you can expect:

 

• ️Gourmet, healthy and delicious meals daily (all dietary requirements catered for); (All breakfasts, all lunches, and dinner on first and last evening of Retreat)
• Modern, newly furnished private eco-casitas
• ️Exquisite open-air yoga shala with jungle views
• ️Rejuvenating yoga sessions, guiding you to flow easily away from parts of your life you are leaving behind, into the parts of your life you are ready to nurture
• ️Queen and King sized beds with soft cotton sheets
• ️Refreshing swimming pools
• Private Beach Bar Access
• ️Beach bonfires & full moon cacao ceremony
• ️Transformational personal growth & wellness workshops designed to give you that mindset shift you need – the mindset that will enable to you to believe that anything in your life is possible
• Surf & surf lessons
• ️Jungle hikes with coastal views
• ️Horse riding along the coast
• ️Day Spa & Boutique Access
• ️Airport pick up and drop off
• ️Wifi/AC/Hot Water
• ️Safe and comfortable transportation in-country
• ️Calendar of optional local cultural immersion activities
• ️Pristine beaches and spectacular sunsets
• And so much more . . . .

 

Details on the Nicaragua Retreat here.

 

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