No matter where we are in the world, we all have something that distracts us from our full potential. It could be our need for electronics, social media, laziness, fear, Doubt, people, or just lack of motivation.
My excuse was boredom. This led me to find different ways to cure this “boredom” I was feeling. Which led me to forget my true purpose. Or prevented me from giving my all. Now I feel as though my boredom was created. It wasn’t real. I was limiting myself of the wonders of life because of how I Chose to distract myself. There is always something PRODUCTIVE to do.
As our community integration period ended and a few volunteers and I were able to leave our provinces, this “freedom” showed me how distracted I was at site. I chose something miniscule or shall I say readily available anywhere in the world over exploration and now it’s a lesson learned. I won’t go into detail but I will say that the past few days have brought clarity and understanding. I came back to site refreshed as if it were my first day here! There was no struggle to get out of bed this morning (which honestly surprised me). Now there are no more distractions! No more counting down! No more wasting time! No more shortcuts!
It’s time to live and embrace the present. Appreciate what’s happening now. Get to know more people in my community. Bike a little longer and maybe even a little farther. And not feel the need to document every little detail, but actually live in it.
Must I reiterate that I’m in Cambodia?!
Might I add that being a volunteer is incredibly selfless especially when you have sworn to serve in conditions of hardship. Yet sometimes our selfish desires tend to ambush our thoughts and sneakily divert our attention and next thing you know we’ve forgotten all about our initial aspirations.
This is just a reminder that we all get distracted and it’s okay! We just need to take time and dig deep within ourselves and find the reasoning behind what is keeping us from being great.
“…whenever she felt besieged by doubts, she would think of herself as standing valiantly alone, as almost heroic, so to squash her uncertainty.” Americanah – Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
