Lessons Learnt from 5 Years of Living in the UK
I have all kind of anniversaries and special days because I think we need more occasions to celebrate. These days are also milestones of something we have achieved, and as we know, celebrating success boosts self-confidence and motivates us to pursue our goals and go for our dreams. If you just say: “Well, yeah, I did that” or “That wasn’t so hard after all, what’s the point of celebrating?”, I can assure you that you’re not giving yourself enough credit for your accomplishments and you’re depriving yourself of energetic fuel to create wonderful new stuff in the future.
In September 2019, I celebrated 5 years since I arrived in the UK. After an emotional departure and a short flight to Luton, there I was, starting over, with 99% uncertainty and faith, strong faith that following my intuition was worth it, even for such a tremendous change.
Fast forward 5 years, on the exact day that I arrived, I cancelled my evening sports class and decided to celebrate, treat myself to something nice and acknowledge all that I have overcome, the person I have become and all the little victories I have had.
It was a very emotional day and my closest people knew about the importance of it, they greeted me and were expressing their support and praise to me.
So, in the evening, I got to the city centre, without any agenda, I went to a few shops and then sat down in a nice, rustic coffee shop and treated myself to a cappuccino and a scone. I was contemplating about my journey so far in the empty café, and as it was in the evening, I was the only customer. I felt cosy, balanced and with a pleasant sense of satisfaction.
I can’t possible explain about all the challenges, problems, frustrations, financial hurdles, lack of support, broken hopes, exhaustion and the many times I was questioning myself: “Why am I doing this?”
The negative spectre was predominant at times, especially in the beginning. But now, from the distance of time, I see even those negative experiences entirely as lessons, as the School of Life. Without them, I definitely wouldn’t be where I am today.
So, if I’m able to see even the distressing moments as opportunities for growth and learning, than the whole 5-year experience is positive.
I’ve never thought I can develop so much in such a short space of time. Looking back, it seems like I’ve been taking many steps at a time, moving up to a higher grade, absorbing so much and constantly moving forward.
If I have to pick two words that summarize this 5-year journey, they would be “challenge” and “discomfort”. Because our world won’t change until we change ourselves.
And we won’t change, until we do new things, do different things, push and constantly stretch ourselves. I’ve heard “You’re pushing yourself too hard” many times, sometimes as a caring note, sometimes as a hurtful remark. To which my answer is: “This is who I am” and also “I prefer to create my reality rather than complain from it”. Not every time things happen as I wish, and I’m also consciously working on maintaining healthy boundaries and nurturing balance in my life. However, to be completely honest, I wouldn’t have or experienced all those amazing things in life, if I haven’t pushed myself at a certain stage.
Things flow only when at a certain time, at a certain level of consciousness you have already done the work. The synchronicities and serendipities happen when you’ve laid the foundation for them.
So, my dear friends, don’t be complacent. I know sometimes the environment can bring you down a lot and you can’t see how your dreams could come true.
But if you give up on your dreams, you give up on true happiness and close the channel of receiving.
When you have big dreams, they usually take a lot more time and effort than you originally thought. And still, have huge dreams! Be brave and do what scares you!
