For Adriana, the time is now

Two nights ago, I was – seemingly – at the edge of the Earth. Seated in a chair on the beach – Hermosa Beach, in Los Angeles County – I watched the big orange ball of a sun slowly lower itself, until it disappeared beneath said edge. Before it disappeared however, my friend Chris informed me that it takes an average of 8 minutes and 20 seconds for the light from the sun to reach the Earth. You see, it takes this long because it is – wait for it – about 93 million miles (150 million kilometers) away. Mic drop. What?!?!

I had a moment. A moment that lasted about 45 minutes. The expansiveness of the universe. Chris kept on dropping more numbers, blowing my mind more and more each minute. I couldn’t integrate it all. How can it all be so enormous? I started wondering about the ocean – about how long it would take to travel from Hermosa Beach to Japan via boat. (30 to 60 days apparently) And: what about the Atlantic Ocean? How long from New York City to Liverpool, for example? (I can’t remember the number…but: not quite as many!) What is this all? What is this vast, enormous world in which we live? And: how is it all so expansive?

A mere 738 miles (1188 kilometers) southeast of the beach that I was on, is the city of Hermosillo, in the Mexican state of Sonora. This is where our Community Manager, Adriana Mendoza, lives. It’s where she moved to – from Mexico City – when she was 11-years-old, and where she has lived on and off ever since. (She’s currently – as am I – in her 42nd trip around the aforementioned sun.) Despite the fact that it’s the city that she has continued to return to over and over again, and although she has much love for it – it is no longer where she is meant to be. It’s too hot for her preferences; her body is simply too sensitive to the heat and the light in the region. She longs for a cooler climate, where she can more easily be outside in nature.

Perhaps could this explain, then, why Adriana is in the process of selling her house, selling her car, and finding new homes for all of her belongings? Could this explain why once that has all been done, she will then be getting on a bus in Hermosillo and travelling to this on-the-edge-of-the-Earth City of Angels (at which point I will have, unfortunately, already departed), where she will stay with friends for a few days, before boarding a plane at LAX – headed ultimately for Zagreb, but stopping in Amsterdam to change planes? Es posible?

You see, Adriana wants to be like the wind, and therefore, she has been – consistently, over time – “letting go of her roots” in Hermosillo. She has been – just as Carlos Cole advised she do – working on mastering the art of letting go. This calling that she is feeling – a calling to leave, with no intention to ever return – has been stirring inside her soul for awhile now, and it was brought to a head off-the-back of a recent break-up. Realizing that there was now nothing to keep her anchored in her current region of the world, she has been able to take steps towards this future of hers that is beckoning.

The destination she has chosen for her new home (at least for the meantime) is the country of Croatia. Home to one of the most popular ‘digital nomad visas’ out there at the moment, this ‘visa’ – which is in actuality a residence permit – will hopefully allow her to live out one of the things that she has been longing for for awhile: to be in a place where she can spend a significant amount of time outside, enjoying nature.

When I asked Adriana if she had a message of wisdom that she wanted to proffer our beloved readers related to her journey and her imminent move, she answered this:

“Close your eyes, connect with the universe, and follow your soul. It is possible to live the life you want. You just have to make the conscious decision to create a beautiful reality, but you have to believe it, believe that you are worthy and deserving of all the wonders that are available for everyone. Once you surrender to the loving care of the creation’s force, you’ll see how suddenly it all starts to get aligned for you.

Even if it means leaving everything behind – good and bad relationships, places, things you own. Life is so precious, and we waste so much time trying to fit into societal expectations, but it’s not about that. In the end, it’s just about yourself.

Don’t be afraid of leaving everything behind. If your soul is screaming for freedom, cut the ties, open your wings, and be one with the wind.”

Here at Growmotely, we sometimes call ourselves the matchmakers of the remote world. It’s true – we are. What’s also true however is that we are building a platform that can serve (and is serving) as a springboard for people (like Adriana) to take action on the most courageous, soulful and aligned dreams that they have for their lives. We see ourselves as removing one of the biggest hurdles (how to make money when changing countries) that stop people in their tracks when it comes to following the whispers (or screams) of their soul.

The Future of Work as we see it is full of people who listen to – and then take action on – these communications from the soul. We would love for you to join us – and Adriana Mendoza – in this bold, ballsy, leave-nothing-on-the-table future of work. And like Adriana, if it feels right, by all means: have no intention of returning to the place you are leaving behind.

Written by: Vanessa Kettner (Growmotely’s Creative Writer and your Remote Work Cupid)
Dedicated to: Adriana Mendoza – Godspeed on your journey, chica guapa ❣️